


Sweet Nightmares

by maevelin



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Horror, Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Black Romance, Dark, Dark Character, Drama, F/M, Forced Orgasm, Horror, Psychological Drama, Psychological Horror, Romance, Sexual Content, Supernatural Elements, Tragedy, Vampire Sex, Vampire Violence, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-06
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2017-12-28 13:41:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 58,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/992627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maevelin/pseuds/maevelin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Sweet dreams sweetheart"...was the last thing she heard before darkness consumed her. And now she is in his mercy, her dreams and her nightmares belong to him. A dark story of passion and revenge unfolds in the dream world. Klaroline. AU from 3x21.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sweet Nightmares sweetheart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [My beta Anastasia Dreams](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=My+beta+Anastasia+Dreams).



> This story takes place after 3x21 but with a twist, after that the story goes AU, and 3x22 never took place.
> 
> ***
> 
> So in this universe Klaus saved Caroline, then tried to kill Elena and Tyler, Stefan, Damon and Bonnie desiccated him. Damon and Stefan were about to leave with Klaus's body but Rebekah intervened and saved him. She snapped Damon's and Stefan's necks and threw them of the Wickery bridge and left with her brother's body. After that Klaus got revived and from a distance he saw the little party Caroline threw celebrating his demise and now he only dreams of revenge.
> 
> And revenge is what he is going to get. But maybe along the way he will get and something more. Maybe nightmares are after all the road to make dreams come true.
> 
>  
> 
> ***
> 
> Many thanks to my beta Anastasia Dreams

_**Sweet Nightmares…  
** _

_Our life is twofold; Sleep hath its own world,_  
A boundary between the things misnamed  
Death and existence: Sleep hath its own world,  
And a wide realm of wild reality,  
And dreams in their development have breath,  
And tears, and tortures, and the touch of joy;  
They leave a weight upon our waking thoughts,  
They take a weight from off waking toils,  
They do divide our being; they become  
A portion of ourselves as of our time,  
And look like heralds of eternity;  
They pass like spirits of the past -they speak  
Like sibyls of the future; they have power -  
The tyranny of pleasure and of pain;  
They make us what we were not -what they will,  
And shake us with the vision that's gone by,  
The dread of vanished shadows -Are they so?  
Is not the past all shadow? -What are they?  
Creations of the mind? -The mind can make  
Substances, and people planets of its own  
With beings brighter than have been, and give  
A breath to forms which can outlive all flesh.  
I would recall a vision which I dreamed  
Perchance in sleep -for in itself a thought,  
A slumbering thought, is capable of years,  
And curdles a long life into one hour.

**The Dream**

**Lord Byron**

Chapter 1: Sweet dreams sweetheart

" _Love is a vampire's greatest weakness."_

He knew that perfectly well, but for reasons he didn't want to admit he let himself forget it. She has hopes and dreams all intertwined in a sweet face that seemed like a dream. His dream. Her golden locks, her green eyes, her crimson lips, an abyss calling.

And maybe it was time he thought. Maybe it was time for him to let go of all the years of torment and unrequited quests. Maybe she could teach him everything a millennia couldn't, how to laugh, how to hope...how to genuinely love. And oh the things he could teach her. She was beautiful, she was strong, she was full of light, he could show her the world, he could give her everything it had to offer and her light would shine brighter than ever. She was so young, so hopeful that she still held on to her humanity like it was her lifeline, but she was not alive anymore. None of them were. There is no lifeline. There is death, there is power and dreams that turn to nightmares. The sun doesn't shine for them anymore, only the moon casts dim reflections of light. Given the chance he would teach her how to walk into that fine line of night and death, he would turn her into a magnificent creature. Under his wings she would learn how to harness her light, she would learn to be powerful, untamed, free. She would be a Queen. His Queen.

His sweet Caroline. Only she wasn't his. She had turned him down every time. He saved her and she celebrated his death. For a moment in the corridors of the school he thought just for a brief moment that he had reached to her. Maybe for a moment he had managed to gain her respect, her gratitude. He had thought that would be enough because if he wanted to be honest he so desperately wanted everything that he thought that even a glimpse of something would be enough to hold him.

And then he was standing outside Elena's house unnoticed and through the window he was watching Caroline toasting to a Klaus free life while his hybrid had his hands on her. Touching her. Touching his dream. Touching what should have been his. An unknown emotion hidden until now made the way to the surface. Jealousy. He was familiar with hate and loathing but this was new and it was fueling his rage even more.

The Lockwood boy could never compare to him. He was an Original. He was the Hybrid. He was the alpha male. That boy that had his hands on Caroline was nothing and yet he had everything. But for how long? He would make sure that his happiness, not only his but all of theirs, would be short lived.

When the Salvatores desiccated him with that damn's witch's spell his whole life passed in front of his eyes. His human days, dreams of normality, days full of laughter and joy. His childhood days, the days when Esther was still his caring mother, days when she loved him, days long before she hated him like her sins. Images of Michael and fear surged though his veins as his heart stopped pumping his blood and his skin and soul screamed in agony.

Flashes of light and flashes of dark. He saw Rebekah as a child and as his companion, her confessions and her temper, so much like him, his baby sister. He saw Elijah, the voice of reason, his older brother that taught him how to hunt and how to use his sword. He saw him, Elijah and Rebekah holding hands, always and forever.

And Kol the spirit of aggression, his little brother the one that he would always protect even though there were times he wanted to tear his liver out. He saw Finn and his hopes to be what he never could, a human. Finn that used to tell him stories when he was younger and eager to know the Viking world. He saw Henrik and his heart bled out faster as the memories of his death haunted his own death. He saw Stefan as his best friend, the days in Chicago, the laughs and the music. He saw blood and he saw lust. Carnage and beauty.

But his last image, his last dream was her face. Her eyes, a kiss not given, a hope untold and a love not explored. Her sweet face. Caroline. That was his end, his last thought, one of pure love. As his last drop of blood turned to nothing inside his desiccated body he thought that this was the only dream that he would hold onto before darkness consumed him forever.

But his desiccated forever was caught sort. Rebekah hadn't left after all. She couldn't leave him behind, they always stuck together after all, one way or another. So before the Salvatore's even had the chance to take his body away she snapped their necks, threw them off the Wickery Bridge and retrieved his body. She brought him back. Now his need for revenge for what they did to him was immediately replaced by something more compelling. The need to see Caroline again. But she wasn't at her house. She was with all those pathetic humans and his hybrid celebrating his death.

Blind rage swept through his heart. Around his mind. He felt a moment of pain and sorrow and then his soul wasn't mourning anymore. The only emotion that was left in the end was revenge. Death.

But no! Death would be such a sweet release. So merciful from his side and if anything mercy was never his middle name. Terror maybe. Evil for sure. Darkness definitely.

So now he was drinking, the alcohol barely registering. His insanity was singing lullabies into his ears. Lyrics of destruction and pain. He could see himself slowly and painfully tearing apart everything and everyone. Especially her. Piece by piece until all the pieces of his undead heart were mended.

" _We do not feel …and we do not care. We are not weak"_.

How was it possible to allow to himself to forget it? And all for a weak baby vampire. One that was etched in to his thoughts like burning fire. Driving him mad, insane, over the edge. He should just take her, ravish her and get her out of his system, but a thousand years had taught him better than that. He would buy his time. Make her suffer. How long would it take to make her lose her mind, her light? That thought made him throw his glass on the wall with all his inhuman strength while screaming his rage into an endless void. Shattered glass flew all around, dropping to the floor like snowflakes of light.

He wanted her light, he wanted her. The thought of her suffering in all the ways he had perfected over the years was almost unbearable to him. Almost.

Maybe her fear would be intoxicating, but he had to admit that his first instincts were to sooth her fears and inspire her dreams.

He stood still, a sadistic smile forming into his lips. That was the answer after all.

He would take her, again and again and in more ways than one but first he would crash her dreams and he would be the only one for her to turn to. He would be her nightmare and her only salvation. He will hold the keys to her soul's getaway.

"Rebekah dear sister come in"

He sensed his sister hesitating to come near him. She was afraid of him when he was like this.

"We need to leave Nik, Alaric is still out there, he is too strong"she said barely keeping a tremor out of her voice. She was an Original, but that creature her mother created was unstoppable. She almost lost Nik today, she will not stand by and lose him. He might have stuffed her in a box for decades, but he is her brother. He is her family, all she has left. And now they must run. They just have to.

"Yes sister I've noticed"his voice dropped dangerously low.

He was THE Original hybrid, he was indestructible, and Alaric almost ran the white-ash stake in to his heart today. His strength was a match to his own. This would have never have happened if he was still controlling everything and everyone like puppets on a string like he had when he first came here. He could see now that he had let himself grow weak the last few months. A year before that this wouldn't have happened. He would have been the one being steps ahead, but now he was paying for his own recklessness. He foolishly thought that Michael was his last challenge and that after his death he could finally stop running, stop being on the edge. That he could relax, have a chance for a less hunted life and then he let his guard down. Big mistake. And then a series of more mistakes followed. But no more. Things were about to change. He would show to everybody why exactly they should have never tried to play games with him in the first place. His Hybrid will pay, the doppelganger will pay, Alaric will pay, the Salvatores will pay.

SHE will pay.

"What are we waiting for then?"Rebekah asked panicking "Alaric is not the only one. The Salvatores won't stop either, they almost killed you Nik, we can't stay! Please!" she tried to reason with him.

"We are not going anywhere, not without setting everything straight"

Rebekah was ready to disagree with him again, but the darkness in his eyes stopped her. She knew better than to mess with him when he was like that. He was about to paint everything and everyone with blood, and the menace in his voice was turning her blood to ice. He walked near her and his hand caressed her hair.

"We are not running anymore Rebekah, this is our home, our domain, and we will leave only when WE want to!"

He moved towards a small cabinet and opened the lid. Inside there were the blood bags he had collected from the afternoon. In all the commotion the Salvatores had left the bags there. Those blood bags would have to do. He closed the lid with a thud. He has his family and he has himself. He already has turned enough hybrids for the moment being and those blood bags assured that he could turn more in to the future. Not many more, so he should be more careful with deciding whom he was going to turn in the future, but that was it.

"I had a witch spell the mansion, Alaric won't be able to enter without an invitation from us so we are safe in here for now"

"This is not a solution Nik!"

"No it isn't, this is why sweetheart you will have the honor of killing he doppelganger," he said in detached tone.

Rebekah stood still and then smiled slowly. He meant it. They wouldn't run anymore. They would stay and they could go anywhere they wanted. All she would have to do is kill Elena. Then they would be free.

"Say it's a gift for saving me today, besides I don't need her anymore, I have our family don't I?"

Her eyes lit up. Her brother is finally letting go of his obsessions for his hybrids. He is keeping the promise they once gave. Family above all.

She isn't a fool though. She knows that he is exchanging one obsession for another, but this is a harmless one. If they got reed of every threat against them her brother can have all the playthings he desires. Hell, she will personally bring Caroline to him, kicking and screaming if she has to, as a gift. As long as they make sure that Alaric gets destroyed, her brother can play with any annoying blond cheerleader he wants, any way he wishes. Eventually he will tire of her, and if not she is just a baby vampire, Nik can handle her. What is important now is to stay together, as a family.

"Always and forever Nik!"she said holding his hand.

He smiled.

Always and forever. Himself and Rebekah. A family, always and forever.

But forever is a long time and it is time to extend his family.

Caroline will make a perfect addition.

He might have lost the possibility to have a hybrid army, but that was the last thing he was going to lose. He had tried to change and settle down and have a different future, but they didn't let him. Now whatever he wanted he would just take it.

And what he wants now is Caroline. To make her suffer, to make her pay, to make her his. Her forever will become his. He will keep her, bind her to his will and punish her for all eternity, and he knows exactly how to begin her torment. This will be just the beginning. He has great plans for his little baby vampire.

Eternity is about to start tonight. And he, for once, can't wait!

* * *

Klaus was gone.

He was desiccated. It was finally over. Life could return to normal again. Well, what was normal for Mystic Falls anyway. Alaric was still out there, but at least one major threat was gone. Hopefully, for good.

She looked at his drawing over her nightstand. She didn't know why she had kept it. All she knew was that now, she and Tyler would have a chance to live their lives without fear. She had lost so many things in the last two years but she was still able to hope. To dream. She still had her friends, her mother, Tyler. They were anchoring her to all that was still human in her soul.

When she realized she wasn't a human anymore she was scared about staying in control. Terrified was a better term actually. She enjoyed her new strengths and abilities for sure, but she knew that it would be so easy to get lost. To lose herself into the nothing that lingered in a vampire's nature. There were no limitations, it was like the whole world had turned into a vivid fairyland ready to be explored and …devoured. The blood is a constant temptation, And everything just hurts more. Intensified to a breaking point. Love is not just love anymore, it is raging passion, it is never ending, raising higher than any flame, and pain is not dull anymore, it is excruciating, it cutes deeper and deeper, it mangles the flesh and breaks the heart into a million pieces. Everything just feels more, so unbearably more.

The world is spinning upside down so when an Original comes along and fancies you, you are left with a whole array of stray emotions.

She knows that she hates him, that is her starting point, and how could she not after everything he has done? She had to admit though, that for a moment or two she could see past all that and in the end that made her feel ashamed. When she learned that he tried to kill Elena today her heart filled with rage, and shame.

Shame because when he had found her in the school after Alaric tortured her she had felt safe in his arms. Felt a warmth she couldn't explain. His voice ended her fear. She knew that she was in the hands of a fearsome creature but her heart knew serenity. She thanked him and she meant it. For a moment she didn't see the dangerous Original that had harmed person she loved and cared about -her included- , she saw a man that worried about her. She saw a …hero. And maybe for just a moment she got carried away by that thought and let it turn into a weird feeling, a feeling that turned to ice when she heard what he had tried to do to Elena. How could she have been so stupid to even imagine that that monster deep down had a heart?

He didn't feel and he didn't care. He was just playing with everyone and everything and with her. She came to her senses soon enough and good riddance she said. Life would be better without him around killing and terrorizing people and drawing stupid romantic drawings. So she would celebrate his death even if deep down in her heart she felt a shimmer of guilt about it. He played with her mind and on some level maybe he succeeded in making her believe, even for a few moments, that he had some humanity left in him and maybe that guilt she momentarily felt was coming from that lie. Still, she toasted to a Klaus free life and she would do it again. She would be happy now, Tyler is all she needs. She can be happy. She should be. She just has to be.

But a little voice is taunting her, reminding her that she still holds on to that damn drawing. That deep down when she thinks of him trapped in a coffin, desiccated and lifeless, she feels chills running through her spine. A painful tug in her heart.

She sighed. She wasn't supposed to have those thoughts. After all, he was the enemy. A nightmare wrapped up in a nice deceiving package. Evil creatures shouldn't be allowed to have cute dimples and sweet smiles. She shoved the drawing into the drawer and closed it while promising herself that she would get rid of it tomorrow. A repetitive promise it would seem.

All of the sudden there was a change in the air. She stiffed. She slowly got up from her bed and closed her eyes for a moment. There was absolutely no sound. Then she heard footsteps. She moved closer to the door.

"Mom? Are you there?" she asked. Truth to be told she was still shaken up from the whole Alaric torture near death experience thing, but he wasn't invited in her house. She was safe here.

"Mom?" she repeated and she went into the living room. The lights were out, and nobody was there.

" _I must be imagining things,"_ she thought, but none the less she checked around her house. Nobody was there. Her mom was still at her shift. Besides she is a vampire for crying out loud. She is the scary thing that lurks in the night, she shouldn't be afraid.

She went back to her to room and when she went in the first thing she noticed was her window. It was wide open. It wasn't before though. She swiftly turned around ready to leave as fast as possible when she collided onto something hard. Or someone.

And now she couldn't look away from those blue orbs. His gaze was penetrating, taking in every detail. Like he was memorizing her features in a dark predatory gaze.

" _Klaus,"_ was the only word hat slipped from her lips.

He smiled cruelly, it was the first time that she was calling his name and obviously it was in utter terror. _"Good"_ he thought.

" _Hello sweetheart…"_ he said softly like a murderer in the dark.

She took a step back but he moved closer not allowing her to put any distance between them.

"You should be… _dead,_ " she whispered, her heart humming in her chest, still not believing that he was there in front of her and the way his eyed kept looking at her made her feel trapped. He had never hurt her until now, but right now all her instincts were screaming to her to get away. Danger was looming.

He smirked. Her fear, all her reactions were like a drug for him. And this was nothing compared to what he was going to make her feel. Images from the afternoon filled his mind again and rage was slipping from his every cell. She dared to celebrate his death. He was ready to give her the world and she was playing him like he was nothing. She never cared. Like Michael. Like Esther. He was an abomination for her and the only thing she wanted was for him to be gone. But he had killed Michael, and he had killed Esther. No one was going unpunished after treating him like that. Especially not a young, unimportant vampire like her, but she wouldn't have Michael's and Esther's luck. Death would just take her away from him, and he wasn't about to let that happen any time soon. It would be too easy…

"Sorry to disappoint love, but it seems that you have to put your Klaus free life on hold for now"he said with a mocking tone.

She blinked for a moment. He was there. He saw her. That wasn't good. She had to get out of here. NOW. But before she could even move he had her pinned up against the wall holding her hands over her head in a death grip. She gasped. His body was covering hers and his mouth was inches away from her lips. She couldn't make a move.

"Get off me!" she tried to command him in her most steady and intimidating voice, but it sounded more like a plead.

His free hand caressed her cheek and his finger touched her jaw. It would be so easy to make her cry in pain, and in passion. Images filled his mind. Her naked skin under his. Her mouth calling his name in ecstasy. Soon he promised to himself. Soon he would have her exactly where he wanted her, but first he would play with her.

A sound of fear escaped her throat. He knew that his proximity and the silence between them were scaring her even more, and a part of him hated that look of fear in her eyes but he suppressed that emotion.

He lowered his head and his nose touched her neck. She stopped breathing.

He took a deep breath. Her scent was calling him. Closer. Her blood rushing under her soft skin. He imagined tasting her red, scarlet blood. Filling his senses with her essence, his poisonous bite causing her torment and his blood being her only cure.

" _You are the first…"_ he said.

She closed her eyes. She felt his lips hovering above the pulse vein on her neck. She was paralyzed.

"The first? " she sounded breathless.

He lifted his head and locked his eyes with hers.

"The first to betray me and walk away unscathed."there was a menace hiding beneath the surface.

" _I want to know your hopes, your dreams, everything you want in life,"_ he had told her

Now she could see that man was long gone. She knew who Klaus was from the beginning. She knew that he wasn't forgiving and that he didn't take betrayal easily so she had taken her chances. It was either that or losing Elena and she would do it again if she had to, but now it was the end of the road. Somehow he must have seen her partying his demise, so now any leniency from his part was gone. It was time to pay for her stupidity for getting herself involved with an Original.

" _This is it,"_ she thought. _"He is going to kill me"_

He smiled a gentle smile like he could read her mind. Silently reassuring her that death wouldn't be her punishment.

_It would be so much worse…_

A tear escaped her eye and he looked at it mesmerized. Her eyes shone and he now knew that he wanted to make her cry more. To make her eyes light with that flame.

" _I…"_

" _Shhh…"_ he soothingly whispered placing his index finger on her lips. It was a melodic sound and a sweet touch like the calling to a lover or the promise of an executioner.

His thumb caressed her cheek, the skin next to her mouth. Suddenly his demeanor changed. Like the sun hiding behind black clouds.

"He used vervain on you"he said furiously. No one was allowed to hurt her. That should have been his privilege and his alone.

She nodded. When he had found her in the school her skin had barely healed but the burning sensation was there carving into her flesh. She had been tortured before and she knew the effects of vervain but that soaked gag had her breathing fire in every breath. She was still shuddering at the thought.

"Do you now what that means sweetheart?"

The heat from his body seeped straight into hers stopping her from thinking straight. For some reason all the tension in her body was gone. She had relaxed in his arms. Maybe it was the way he was looking at her. Like he cared. All she knew was that she was feeling that weird feeling again. She was pinned up against a wall by the most dangerous creature to have walked the earth, an Original that was about to end her undead life and she was feeling numb and… _safe_.

"It means that the vervain is still in your system and that is just too bad… _for you"_

His words, his threat, the promise of compulsion, shook her out of her trance.

"Let go of me!" she thrashed under his hold to no avail. She kept moving and with every move she was getting angrier and angrier because it seemed that he was enjoying her helplessness.

"You had your fun today love, now it is time for mine…"

His body crashed over hers with all his might bruising her skin. He let go of her hands and she tried to shove him away but he wasn't bulging.

"Were you ever afraid of the monsters under your bed Caroline?"

His hands grabbed her head from each side making her look at him and only him.

His eyes held a cruelty she had never seen before. He was the hidden monster in everyone's nightmare. The creature that was hiding in the night. She was terrified of what he might do.

" _The gates of horn and ivory are waiting for you my love"_ His hands were about to twist her neck, but for a moment, time stood still.

She didn't know how, but she knew that he would be there, in her wildest nightmares, in her sweetest dreams. She was terrified and not afraid at the same time.

She couldn't look away. Her fire met his ice and everything around them melted.

" _Sweet dreams sweetheart"…_ was the last thing she heard before darkness consumed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -"The gates of horn and ivory" are a literary image used to distinguish true dreams from false ones. More information you can find in wikipedia.


	2. Night Full of Terrors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Memories and dreams are in italics.

_**Sweet Nightmares…** _

_The night is darkening round me,_  
The wild winds coldly blow ;  
But a tyrant spell has bound me,  
And I cannot, cannot go.

**The Night is Darkening Around Me**

**Emily Bronte**

Chapter 2: _Night Full of Terrors_

_There was an eerie silence all around the forest, but she kept walking. It was a beautiful place, full of wonders and colors_ _,_ _the air, the grass, the trees and the open sky above. If there was something that she really enjoyed about being a vampire_ _it was that all her senses were alert. She could feel and sense everything at a whole new level. She couldn't believe it at first but now she could see more colors, more shades, the whole spectrum of colors. She could feel with her touch every fiber of reality, and then some. When she was running so fast, that everything around her was turning into a shapeless blur, she had a feeling of freedom that as a human she could have only dreamed of. When fresh human blood was running through her veins she felt more supernatural then ever. She could bend the laws of nature, break every human convention that was holding her down and keeping her trapped inside her own flesh. Humanity was a blessing, but it was also a chain wrapped around her body like a heavy anchor._ _Still she was not a human anymore and she needed to come to terms with that._ _Humans were something different. They were weak and she is not weak. Not anymore, now she was free. She could feel it in her heart, in her body, in her mind, she wasn't human any more, she was a predator, she was powerful, a hunter. She could live for the thrill, for the hunt. She could tear the world apart and shape it to a new form. She was superior in that way. Her kind was. She was a vampire._

_She stopped walking like she was struck by an electric current. Since when did she feel and think that way? This trail of thought was very disturbing. She had always been proud at herself for being able to hold on to her humanity, to her empathy. To wake up every morning and look in the mirror at a reflection that wasn't making her feel shame. She wasn't a monster. She could never be one, she wouldn't allow it._

" _Come on now, deep down in your most primal and primitive thoughts you know you are one. Ruthless, untamed, magnificent."_

_As if she was in pain her hand trembled and reached for her chest in despair. She felt like her heart was going to_ _explode as it beat_ _erratically against her ribcage. She was fighting her own thoughts, her own nature, and it was the first time that her neurotic nature that was all about control was giving up on her. She craved blood. She wanted it more than ever. Those thoughts were taking over, challenging her to embrace her inner true nature._

" _You want to feel it, to enjoy the hunt. Come on Caroline. The glorious feeling of draining a human, the last heartbeat of a living being, the last breath, the sensation, the blood, the blood, oh the blood."_

_Taunting thoughts. A demon that you could never avoid; but it was like those thoughts were not hers and at the same exact moment they felt like they were part of her. Like something beyond her control was controlling her darkest parts, her deepest needs._

_A seductive voice. One that was promising everything and everything was only what HE could give to her._

_She licked her lips._

_She was all alone in the forest; no one could see her or hear her thoughts. She could at least admit it to her self. She was intrigued by him. He had awakened a desire in her. Every time she was thought of him her body ached with need. For the first time she wasn't a second choice, he could make her his world and he could give her the world. He wanted her, only her. Klaus. He had lived a thousand lives and yet here he was, claiming her, wanting her, admiring her light and her beauty. Could he see the light and the darkness in her soul? Is it that he could see a lonely kindred spirit? One that was so similar with his? They were both lonely; they both had felt rejection and both of them were nature's abominations._

" _Stop Caroline. Just stop!"_

_She had to stop those thoughts. They were confusing her. What was happening? Her mind seemed all messed up. Like a raging battle of wills inside her own head. She hated him. And yet right now it would seem that all clarity was gone. Her desires and instincts were taking over._

_But she hates him, she has to, she does!_

" _No you don't!" a voice spoke in her head. That little voice, the one that every time she was thinking of him, was betraying her again and again._

_Dirty blond curly hair, deep blue cerulean orbs._

_Presumptuous and powerful._

_One of his kind._

_Her mate._

_That thought made her shiver_ _through out her whole body._ _This couldn't be. What was the matter with her? Was she possessed or something?_

_She looked down at her feet, they were surrounded by fog. A thick layer was covering the ground. Was it there before?_ _Everything around her blurred_ _and she blinked, her eyes were heavy but her senses were fighting to become more alert._

_Why was she so confused all of the sudden?_

_For a brief moment she felt her head aching, her temples slightly burning, a dull pain that was coming and going. Vampires don't have headaches, do they?_

_Something was holding her down, immobilizing her. Down where? She was standing._

" _Snap out of it!" a faint whisper echoed all around her._

_Holy hell was that her voice?_

" _Fight, fight back, fight him, wak…"_

_The pressure in her head became stronger, so sharp that she felt like crying and then the voice stopped._

_She felt numb and she couldn't remember why she had stopped walking. She had to move, the forest was calling and night was coming._

_She took deep breaths and looked at the sky. Full moon was rising._

_There were no stars above her. Darkness and blackness was all around._ _The moon past its apex._ _The only light in the sky casting shadows everywhere._

_She started walking, unsure where she was going._

_There was no destination, just aimless walking into the magical scary night._

_She liked the forest when it was bathed in the sunlight but not in the darkness._

_She had to go back home but she felt so lost and so alone. She knew perfectly well that danger lurked in the night and this place held its own mystery. Evil resides here she can feel it. The misty forest, the dim moonlight, it is not safe. And when you are dancing in an evil playground there is nowhere you can hide._

_She could have been safe, if she had only let him stroke her fears away when he was there for her. But now she was all alone. Would she be alone for all eternity to come? Alone in the dark? Nowhere to be found?_

_She needs to calm her self but she is so afraid. She wants to be brave, to be loved, not to be rejected. Not to be here. She has to get out of here. So she keeps walking._

_She walks and stumbles. The ground is covered in mud. All black, everything is black._

_And then she freezes, she hears it. Howling. A terrifying sound that mortifies her. It feels really near. It comes closer, and she can remember; this sound is not unknown, it is every vampire's fear. One bite is all it takes._

_She starts running, running fast. If she can only make it out of this forest! It is her only chance!_

_She has to be quiet though, not to invite the creature._

_She doesn't look back but she knows, a werewolf is at her heels, and she needs to escape. She looks again at the full moon while she is running, so tempting and dangerous as she runs from its lure. She glances back and all her suspicions are painfully confirmed. A wolf, a werewolf is at her tracks and it turns her blood in to ice. She has never seen anything like this before. His size is huge, enormous. No normal werewolf would look like that. He is an alpha. His teeth are long and bloody. Sharp claws. His fur is a mixture of silver and gold. A magnificent terrifying creature that looks more like a giant lion than a wolf. She can barely register how fast he runs. Faster than her. Much faster and he is approaching. He shines under the moonlight and she can feel his craving for blood, her blood. He has set his golden bloodshot eyes on her, she is his target._

_She runs faster than before, so fast that her breath was caught in her throat and if she were not a vampire her heart would most certainly have given out. Tears fell from her eyes, time is running out._

_And then the impossible happens._

_All her vampire strength is gone. She starts slowing down._

" _NO, NO, NO this can't be happening!" She is panicking, her speed is fading, her limbs are burning and giving out. She wants to keep running, but her blood is boiling, her heart is hurting, her flesh turns warmer and warmer by the second. Life is coming back into her form only to certify her demise._

_A mocking voice in her head makes her want to die._

" _You wanted to be a human, now be one."_

_The Fates have condemned her tonight. Her dream, her impossible hope to become a human even for a moment has come to haunt her as her worst nightmare. She is so helpless, so weak. She was damned as a vampire and now she is doomed as a human, and all she prays is to become a vampire again. It is her only fighting chance but her wish isn't coming true. She is bound in humanity. All her chances are gone. She is gone. The creature is approaching. He howls and growls. He is coming for her._

_She wants to scream but there is no voice. She stumbles over a rock and falls hard on the muddy ground. Her knees get scraped and now they sting, the blood seeping through the torn flesh. Her ivory hands are stained with bloody scratches. Blood soils the mud._

_The wolf smelling the sweet inviting scent of her blood comes closer. He is in very close range and he wants to play with his prey. Her injured bloody hands are covered in mud and her face in tears. She is feeling completely human now. No power, no higher senses. All that is left is her fear, and the wolf is sensing it and now it craves more than her flesh, it craves her soul. She could have turned it off if she was a vampire but now she doesn't have that option anymore. All she has is the fear that paralyzes her._

_The moon seems so far away now. It is hurting her, it is out of reach._

* * *

Rebekah kept walking slowly, around her an aura of death. She could feel a rush of adrenaline surge through her veins. She could hear heartbeats, she could smell blood, and she could even feel the pain without having to witness it. Mortals, such fragile little things after all.

A sadistic smile painted her face, so similar to the one her brother wears more often than he should. Yes, she and Klaus are one and the same, predators, killers. And they know of power, blood and death. Maybe in another lifetime things could have been different. Maybe they could have held on to their humanity, to their hearts, to their souls. But now, in this life, in this reality, they are the monsters everyone fears.

Survival of the fittest. She believes it, she lives by it. She has spent her entire existence running, but no more. She won't run, she won't hide and she will not spend another day in a casket or in fear. For a thousand years she has always been on the run, her face might have the look of eternal youth, but her spirit is so tired, she needs to breathe again, to feel safe again, she needs to live again and for that to happen Elena has to die. Tonight.

She kept walking the hospital corridors. Elena Gilbert was in one of these rooms. After her brother finally gave her permission to get rid of the irritating brunette she went straight to Elena's house were she saw Jeremy carrying her away. She was bleeding. She could have killed her right there but she was not going to take any chances, even slim ones as her brother did. She wanted Elena to be all alone. The Salvatores must still be at the bottom of the lake which was really convenient. She never understood their need to keep Elena safe no matter the cost, but right now all her protectors were nowhere around. Fantastic!

She stood behind a wall and saw Jeremy Gilbert talking to the doctor. Meredith Fell was telling him that Elena had just a slight concussion. She kept focusing on their conversation and then she turned and went straight into Elena's room and closed the door behind her.

She saw her sleeping in the hospital bed. She approached slowly and took one of the pillows. This would be it; she did hate the girl after all. Vengeance would be sweet.

But before she knew it a memory flashed before her eyes.

" _We deserve to live, we are better that they are" she said angrily to Elijah._

" _Are we?" he looked at her with shame in his eyes, his morality and his love for his family battling inside him. Klaus was the one that in the end never left her but it was Elijah that truly kept his word. He was the one that always put their family above all, even above his morals, and that was something that right now was hurting him. His shame and his sorrow was evident on his face. Elijah hardly ever opened up and never with her but now he was breaking before her. She had lost her mother tonight, now she had only an enemy that went by the name Esther and right now she was losing her brother too. She could see it in his eyes, he was about to leave. Everyone leaves her in the end one way or another, but it was the next words that slipped from his tongue, barely audible but loud as thunder, that cut her the most._

" _Mother made us vampires, she didn't make us monsters, we did that to ourselves" he said accusing them all and then left leaving her behind._

_She was a monster and she was all alone._

She grasped the pillow almost tearing it in pieces. Her hands momentarily trembled as she kept it inches from Elena's face. She closed her eyes and put the pillow aside. She was a monster, but sometimes even monsters have their moments of guilt and mercy. Well, at least moments of guilt, because Rebekah Mikaelson doesn't know anything about mercy. This is what she kept repeating to herself anyway.

She kept staring at Elena. The girl was about to die in a hospital bed all alone. She could relate to that, she knew what was it to be alone, to live and to die alone and maybe as a last gesture she could make her feel less lonely. She hated that girl, that is a given, but in the end Elena was about to give her life in order for her and her brothers to live their own in peace. She could spare her one last moment of joy. She gently put her hand on Elena's head and closed her eyes.

Rebekah would give her a moment of happiness, a memory that will accompany her last breath.

Elena sighed in her sleep as Rebekah infiltrated her mind. She went deep into Elena's subconscious and dug through her memories searching for a happy one. She went through the pain and the shadows and she half expected to find a memory of Elena with Stefan or with Damon but in the end the memories that Elena held most dear were the ones with her family.

In the tunnels and the whirlwinds of Elena's mind a memory covered the sleeping girl's dream.

Elena smiled in her sleep. She didn't want to wake up. She wanted to stay right there.

_She wanted to stay where her parents were. Where she could touch them and hug them, and hold them like she did the last day she spent with them. A day that started like any other, and ended in a way that no day should ever end._

_But that morning was the last she was going to spent with them. If she only knew it back then she would have cherished the moment to the fullest. She wouldn't have let the moment go, she would have made it last._

_She saw Jenna, and her mom, she saw her dad. And she felt so happy. Her life was normal and maybe a little boring but she had all she could ever ask for. Her family was there for her and she has loved. Maybe something was missing, but she hoped, and deep in her heart she knew, that one day she would find passion and excitement and she would be complete. Then she would share her happiness with all those she loved and loved her in return. She would grow old and have children and she would try to be as good a mother as hers was._

_Her mom kissed her with so much love and her beautiful, radiant smile was like a breath of life._

_She was happy, if only she could hold on to that moment forever._

All the voices and the laughter seized, they faded as the sharp pain spread from her neck to her whole body in less than a second and the last sound was the noise from the cardiogram. The flat line in the monitor was irrevocable. Her last thought, somewhere deep in her mind before she lost her last breath was that in the end no one should want to live forever.

Rebekah looked Elena for the last time. She had just suffocated her with the pillow, she had though that it would be easier to snap her neck but she didn't want to leave any suspicions to anyone that this wasn't a sudden yet natural death. It was over. She ran faster than ever. She just had to go away. She didn't want to hear the doctors coming to rescue Elena and she didn't want to see her brother mourning her. She ran and she ran until she couldn't anymore. She ended in the forest trying to catch her breath. She was a vampire and she didn't need to breathe but she wanted to breathe again and she was now free to do it without fear, but for some reason she found she couldn't. Everything was darker than ever.

Elijah's voice echoed in her mind again and again.

" _Mother made us vampires, she didn't make us monsters, we did that to ourselves"_

* * *

" _So Damon tell me, what is it that I want?"_ _she asked intrigued by him._

_Her sweet face, her smile, all the innocence were making her so beautiful, different from Katherine, so much more beautiful._

" _You want a love that consumes you, you want passion, and adventure, and even a little danger." He could hear her heartbeat beating faster._

" _So what do you want?" looking straight into his eyes._

He was falling, deeper and deeper. The abyssal depths of the waters surrounded him and he was floating in darkness. No air, everything felt so cold and all he could feel and sense was her. Elena. She lingered in his thoughts even when there was nothing left in him. He could see her face, her smile and he felt her fading from his memory and from his reach. His body was slowly waking up but he could feel that something wasn't right and Elena was his only thought.

Damon's suspended body barely moved in the water and all he knew was that she was falling far away from him, and he was afraid that he would be condemned never to reach her.

He was feeling it, something was terribly wrong. He was losing her; he had to go to her.

" _I want you to get everything you are looking for"_

His clouded mind was craving for more; he wanted to be everything she was looking for. Most of all he wanted her to be happy and safe. But right now all he knew was that she was slipping away. He could almost feel her calling him and that pull was enough to make him come back from the nothingness that was holding him.

He suddenly opened his eyes and everything was blurry and wet. There was no oxygen. Water flooded in his mouth, covering every inch of him. He was going under by the moment and water was everywhere.

" _What the hell happened?"_ he thought as his vision became more focused his muscles aching as he slowly moved.

Rebekah!

Barbie Klaus took her brother and snapped his and Stefan's neck.

Stefan!

He frantically looked around and saw his brother floating in the bottom of the lake some meters away from him. He was still unconscious. She threw them over the damn bridge.

He quickly swam to his brother and as fast as he could he headed towards the surface carrying Stefan's body with him. He could feel his brother slightly moving. That was good because they had to hurry. Elena was in danger; they had to go to her. NOW!

* * *

_Time stood still, she couldn't move, she could barely even think, all she knew was that the wolf was coming to collect her flesh and her soul. She could swear that she was hearing voices from afar. The help that was too near to her, yet so far away. Like someone was giving her hope and then brutally taking it away. She wanted to scream but she didn't have a voice. She couldn't speak, she couldn't even breathe. The voices in her head, like a haunting choir, were praying and pleading for this nightmare to end._

_The wolf was coming closer and closer and her skin from her heart down to her legs was burning. Her wounds were bleeding, inviting the creature closer and closer. He was circling her, every step in the mud creating the circle of an imaginary cage holding them both in. A night full of terrors, another prey was about to die in the cold of the night and it was her, was her only coherent thought. Her human heart was beating frantically and she could see her last breath lingering in those golden eyes._

_The wolf lifted his head towards the sky and furiously howled, his fur shining under the moonlight and then with supernatural speed he attacked before her mind could even form a thought. He was a male she was sure of it, and those golden eyes were familiar, causing her a feeling of fear and excitement. The scent of her blood filled the air; the wolf's claws were digging in her flesh holding her down to the ground. His bloody teeth tasted her as the sharp nails of his claws carved into her forearms and her legs. He was scratching and cutting in unimaginable depths every part of her body. He was satisfying his hunger with her skin and flesh, it was a rabid predatory attack and the more she was resisting the more assertive and fearless the wolf was becoming. The moments were stretching to eternity, and every moment was more painful than the one before. Her tears were mixing with her blood and she was looking at the moon above, a hazy image in the black starless sky. The silver fur of the wolf was now tainted by her crimson beads of blood. It was no longer running in her veins. She tried to resist, to pull away, to find a way out but it was useless. She was fighting with everything she had but her human strength was giving away. Every attempt she was making to free herself was causing her more pain; infinite otherworldly pain. The wolf was attacking her body again and again immobilizing her. The ground was turning red and the wolf was growling, enjoying his killing and her mind was exploring unfamiliar grounds of terror and suffering. Why wasn't he just ending her life? Why was his attack never ending?_

_The pain and the agony were unbearable; every movement causing her nerves to break into torturing fire. The beast had her imprisoned under his body and was smelling her neck, ready to take another bite of her flesh and she was shivering, her exhaustion winning the battle. The fog around them was getting thicker and thicker and the wolf was inhaling the scent of her dishevelled bloody hair and licking her neck while his teeth were becoming one with her torn flesh._

_She remembered a painting she had seen a long time ago, a fascinating image of a beast claiming his mate while in the same time killing the object of his desire, but not in a million years would she have thought back then that this would happen to her._

_Her tears were the only signs of her torment, of her terror. She wanted to cry in agony but she couldn't. She was ice-cold and burning at the same exact moment, her wounded body shivering uncontrollably. The throbbing pain was evoking her most hidden fears. She could taste her blood in her mouth and even though she was now a human she could still enjoy the metallic divine taste as a vampire, forgetting for a moment that it was her blood she was relishing. But it was, and with every lost drop her life force was fading. She didn't want to die. She wanted to live, to see the beauty in the world, she wanted to have a greater destiny that this, she wanted to have it all. Her tears were falling and she was waiting in vain for someone to come and save her. But she was all alone and the creature that was killing her was her last connection to this world, he was taking her life away and with it her hopes and dreams, everything she ever wanted. She just wanted one more chance. One chance to see the world in all its beauty and glory, but it was too late and the night was darkening, her life ending._

_Teeth and claws were breaking her skin even more and what scared her the most was that although the pain was excruciating she seemed to enjoy it. She derived a strange pleasure from it. She looked at the golden eyes, her blood tainting the silver fur and realised she was finally letting go, her life draining out of her. The wolf was now looking her with sad eyes, mourning the loss of her life. He howled with the wind that was bending the trees and_ _then_ _she_ _finally screamed_ _._ _Louder than ever, she just…screamed._

" _Time to wake up sweetheart."_

All she could hear through her own screams was his voice, her body was aching and fear was consuming her but all she could hear was his voice. He was calling her back. His hands were holding her down as she kept moving frantically around her sheets. The smell of her own blood, the wolf, the haunting night were all so real, so painfully real, more real than anything else she had ever experienced, but his voice was her way out of it.

"Wake up Caroline." He was gently shaking her sweaty body, his voice tender yet commanding.

She jolted up, her eyes stricken with terror opened and tried to adjust to the darkness of her room. She was in Klaus's arms. He was holding her down while she was blindly and instinctively fighting him, still shaken up and not completely alert. She wasn't dreaming anymore but she wasn't completely awake either. His superior strength was holding her in the shelter of his embrace stilling her abrupt movements.

"Breathe sweetheart, come on." His voice was almost hypnotic.

She did as she was told. She tried to breathe again and again. Unevenly at first but with each breath her body was regaining control. He was stroking her hair, soothing the fears he had caused. With that thought she violently pushed him away.

She could feel that her face was wet, her tears real. She turned her face up to him, more tears running down her cheeks, she couldn't control them she was still so terrified. Her body was still feeling the pain and the horror he had made her experience in the dream he bestowed upon her. He was sick and he made her feel sick too. She had been tortured before, but no one had made her feel so helpless. He had played with her hopes and dreams, with her fears.

How was it possible for him to show her his best side and then hurt her like that? He was truly evil. Until now he had shown her a fake side, but he had finally revealed his psychotic character in all its glory. She was right to hate him; she should never forget who he really was and she should have ever believed, not even for a moment, that he was capable of change. He wasn't and he never would be.

She just wished that she had the power to hurt him. To make him feel all the pain he made her feel and then some more.

That fire in her eyes made him want her even more. That light, that fighting sparkle, was what made him want her like he had never wanted anyone else before. The tears were making her eyes seem even more luminous in the dark. Those eyes that were silently watching him with contempt and despair. She was accusing him without using words and he could feel himself smiling. He was enjoying this immensely. Her fear was intoxicating and his need for revenge was not appeased. She looked so fragile and beautiful. Today they almost had him sealed away in a coffin, desiccated and helpless, and she was his only hope, she was his only thought, her smile and her eyes were the only things he would take with him. She didn't know it but even in her betrayal –one that he would make her pay for– she was still his hope and remedy. Now he finally had her so near and not just as a thought he couldn't touch. She was in front of him in the flesh, in all her breathtaking beauty. Soon, he promised himself, soon she would be his. And she would be his most treasured possession. He would spend an eternity holding her in his arms and being with her in her dreams, but until she belonged to him, body and soul, he would turn those dreams into nightmares. And the only one to soothe and hold her after every long and restless night would be him and only him.

His hand gently stroked her wet cheek and she moved to the edge of the bed. She tried to put some distance between them even though she knew it would be useless and his smirk confirmed that.

"Did you sleep well love?" The irony and the false concern in his voice painfully evident.

She stared at him, she was doomed and they both knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to my beta Anastasia Dreams!


	3. Genuine beauty comes with pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to my beta Anastasia Dreams

In visions of the dark night

Ihave dreamed of joy departed-

But a waking dream of life and light

has left me broken-hearted.

**_A Dream_ **

**by Edgar Allan Poe**

**_Chapter 3: Genuine beauty comes with pain_ **

They say it is darkest before dawn. Well they couldn't be more right she thought.

This seemed to be one of her darkest moments, she was afraid and she was in pain. Outside of her window she could she that it was still dark. Morning was yet to come. She was scared to look at his face and the way the dim light in her room created shadows upon his features. She had lost sense of time, how many hours was she sleeping? Or has it been just mere minutes? She didn't dare look the clock. For now time was standing still.

She was at the edge of her bed shivering, the dream still holding her captive in a weird way. Fully awake now, she knew that everything was just a twisted dream. She even knew that this dream wasn't even hers to begin with; it was one of his sick games. But as the minutes passed by she couldn't shake out that feeling of terror and helplessness that was covering her from head to toe. He was so near her that it was making everything even more terrifying. His presence was worst than any imaginable nightmare. She tried to collect her thoughts, she knew that somehow he was deriving a strange pleasure out of this and she didn't want to be such an easy game in his hands.

Klaus was casually resting his back on the headboard, his legs stretched over the duvet. His gaze slowly traveled over her, taking in every movement, every short breath. Her confusion, her fear and her clear efforts to collect herself and fight him were intoxicating. He couldn't look away from her golden locks. A golden halo that was a fitting crown for a princess. He had lived a thousand years to know that when the time came, a princess given the right opportunity would rise to be a Queen. She couldn't see it yet, but this was her place, next to him.

He smirked when he saw her secretly look at the door, but he knew, as did she, that she would never make in there in time. Still, he knew that this wouldn't stop her from calculating ways to escape from him. Soon she'll be content in his arms he thought and never think of running away from him.

A sound of pain escaped her lips.

His hand carefully traveled on her arm up and down caressing it. She moved further away from his touch and he sighed. That movement caused her even more pain.

"It's psychosomatic," he said softly. He knew she was counting the minutes before the pain would take over her completely. As her body became more alert so would the pain.

She stared up at him with confusion.

He moved a little bit closer to her. He didn't want to startle her more, but he did want to feel her closer to him. To take her in his arms and take away all her fear. All in good time he thought, for now he was just going to play with her fear, magnify it to a breaking point. Her breaking point. He had to use her primal instincts against her for that to happen. Pain and hunger would have to do for now. Just a tad for tonight.

"The dream felt real, it affected all your senses, so your body is still responding to what it thought that was really happening." His voice was so calm and gentle like she was his favorite student and they were in a class session.

"It's all in the mind actually." He decisively caught her arm and gently moved her closer to him, not giving her the option to deny him. "Even if it was just a dream that didn't make in any less real did it?" he whispered in her ear, smelling her hair.

It would seem that he couldn't suppress the wolf inside him. Everything he did to her in his wolf form in her dream he was tempted to do now, minus the slicing and dicing. In her dream he was the wolf and he enjoyed his hunt like no other before, because she was the prey. He smelled her fear in her dream, claiming and marking her like he was doing right now. Now though, he was so tempted to turn her fear in arousal and lust. He smiled still taking in her scent, pain could be the prelude to pleasure he thought.

She didn't answer, but he was telling the truth. All her body ached, she was sore and her skin was burning in all the places that the wolf sliced and carved her flesh in the nightmare. Which meant everywhere. For some strange reason she knew without a single doubt that the werewolf in her nightmare was Klaus' wolf form. He was once again so close to her, inches away. This time he wasn't a wolf and it was real. His head buried in her hair and his hand gripping her arm. The connection was unbearable. His touch was gentle yet firm and it was causing her nerves to scream with pain. Her whole body was relieving the nightmare. Every passing minute she could feel imaginary wounds appearing. She needed blood and she could hear his blood pumping in his veins louder than ever. She still remembered the way his blood tasted. Like nothing she had ever tasted before. She could feel her gums hurting and her physical pain was making them hurt even more. She was willing her fangs not to appear and her face not to contort to its vampiric features and that was resulting in to more pain. She didn't want to turn in front of him. She had to breathe. Just breathe, to take deep breaths. This is was one of the most useful lessons Stefan had taught her the night she turned. To remember to breathe. _Damn that was so not working right now._

He knew hunger when he saw it. And now her eyes were screaming with it. He wanted so much to see her again in all her vampire glory like the night of her birthday when she sunk her fangs into his flesh. Only the memory was making his whole body throbbing with need. He needed to make her succumb to her bloodlust; it would make everything so much easier for him. Her guilt and her hunger would be in his hands the perfect instruments. In this point it was all about control. She was too young, and even though her control was remarkable, something he had confirmed tonight, she was still a baby vampire. Giving in to her bloodlust would mean giving up her precious control. She would be ready to give in to him then. From the moment she caught his eye, he had quietly studied her. Her issues with control were the ones that defined her. It was all about control, always, so he would just have to take it from her. Even if that meant doing to her things he had avoided until now. It was time. He would have to turn to his old ways, but the price was worth it.

She was going to be his one way or another.

His hand now slowly moved to her neck, she was about to move away but his eyes turned to ice and she knew it wouldn't be a wise thing to do, not when she was alone with him with no distance between them. He barely caressed her pulse point and she shuddered.

"Baby vampires, such sensitive little creatures," he said, his voice slightly mocking.

He applied a little pressure to the imaginary cuts and bites that would have been there had he dream been real. He new exactly where to put just a little bit more pressure. She suppressed a moan of pain and bit her lips. Her heart was beating wildly against her ribcage. She had been tortured before, she could do this. She wasn't the weak little girl everybody thought she was. Although the pain was still there, she was trying to forget about it, to convince herself that it was just her imagination. Her mind was playing tricks on her. It wasn't real even if it was feeling so painfully real.

This was so not her day, first Alaric tortured her and now Klaus. She had her neck snapped twice, she was vervained. Wood was pushed into her, and the dream felt so real that now pain was lingering in her awakened body. His hand, causing friction on her skin was killing her. It was like he was pushing his hands into an open wound. What was even worse was that she was feeling drained. She needed blood and she needed it now. Her body craved it in order to stop the pain. All her thoughts seemed to end with that and only that. Blood!

He was watching in amazement all the emotions that were crossing her face. He was expecting her to scream with pain or at least moan and cry, but she was doing neither. She was stubborn and feisty and that combination could be lethal to a vampire. If she were to be taught the right ways she could turn out to be…divine. They could be unstoppable together. His desire flared and white-hot passion engulfed him.

Before she knew it he had her pinned on her bed, his body crashing into her. Her breathing became erratic and she knew that he was aware that his weight was causing her tender flesh even more pain. She thought she saw him hesitate but instead of moving off her like she wanted he began massaging her arms. It wasn't soothing, it was excruciating. She bit her lips harder until she drew blood, but she didn't make a sound. The drop of blood that she tasted from her lip was making her crave blood even more.

She bravely met his gaze; she wasn't giving in to him. This dream hadn't been real, the pain wasn't real. He was real, but the pain wasn't, she had to hold on to that. She had to focus to what was real. Ironically that meant him. She had to find a way out of this and right now her only solution seemed to be to keep him calm, to reason with him. It seemed an impossible task. Especially since her mind was clouded with pain and she was tormented by thoughts she didn't want to admit to. She wanted to move her head a little higher, hide her face in his neck and bite him with all her strength, drain him dry.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked in a whisper.

He smiled and moved even closer to her and it took all her will power to not shove him away. His fingers seemed to enjoy finding their way on her skin, he kept stroking the length of her arms and his gaze locked with hers.

" _Punishment."_ One word, one whisper. Like a caress, like poison.

She trembled but she didn't move. Not even an inch. He wasn't smiling anymore. His hand gripped her jaw and moved her face closer to him.

A sound of terror escaped her lips and he relished it. Only a day ago, looking upon her beautiful face had taken away the darkness from his soul. Now her ivory skin and her green eyes infuriated him. Her sweet face was igniting his darkness and he was getting lost in it. He wasn't going to drown alone in that abyss, though; he was taking her with him, no matter the cost.

"Rejection is one thing sweetheart, betrayal another."

His lips were now close to hers, she tried to move away but his grip on her face was too strong.

"You played with me when I was nothing but kind to you. I lost a brother thanks to you and your little group of beloved friends. The night you distracted me, you almost cost me my whole family and today you were so happy to get rid of me _. Honestly sweetheart I am feeling a little upset here and when that happens…._ "

His tone was so menacing that now all she felt was fear. Both of her hands were holding his arm. His hand moved lower and he was now holding her from her throat. He wasn't hurting her, but she new that it wouldn't take much. If he were to apply a little more strength he would either snap her neck or even rip her head of. She knew that he was capable of it. He had proved to her tonight that he didn't care about her. He wouldn't hesitate in killing her.

" _I tend to get a little moody…"_

His fingers circled her throat a little tighter; if she were human his hold would have choked the life out of her.

"So you tell me, love, why do you think I am doing this?"

His gaze roamed over her face and settled on her half open lips.

"Kill me then and get it over with it. What are you waiting for?" she retaliated but she just couldn't look away from his eyes that looked so dark at that moment. She could feel the heat from his body seeping into her ice-cold aching skin. She didn't want to die, but she didn't want to beg for her life either. She would never do that.

"Where would the fun be in that?" His hand finally let go of her neck and she could breathe better. It was worse like this; the hunger was increasing with every deep and long breath.

He gently stroked her hair. Her skin was beyond pale now. He gently moved his body, sat on the bed and tenderly pulled her on his lap. She didn't fight him. She was too weak. The nightmare was quite the ordeal for her. She was just a young vampire after all.

"I have great plans for you, sweetheart." He promised her and that promise made her feel even worse. He was insane and she was powerless.

The pain was just too much now, she was shivering and sweat ran down her body. Her intense need for blood was turning to something else. It felt like she was fainting and she was so scared that she was going to be locked away in another nightmare. She momentarily closed her eyes and she saw the haunting image of the wolf ready to bite her yet again. She opened her eyes wanting to make this nightmare vanish. Everything blurred together and the room started spinning. She tried to say something, but it was just too much. She wanted to fall a way to a world made out of blood and nothing else. Her every fiber was on fire, but all her movements were becoming slower. She was starting to drift away. It was as if she was completely drained.

"It's ok Caroline, it will be over soon." His words terrified her and her powers were wavering by the minute.

He drew her closer into his arms and held her like she was a little child, his voice murmuring soothing words that she couldn't make sense of. One minute he was threatening her and the next he was cradling her in his arms. It was like he was showing her the power he held over her. Power of life and death, of torture and relief. She tried to move, but her body was getting weaker by the minute and all she could do was nestle on his chest.

He moved his hand on the nightstand and took the paper cutter he had left there while she was unconscious. He took her hand and he swiftly cut her palm with it. She moaned and moved on him a little bit.

"Shhh, it's ok…" he said kissing her forehead and bringing her bleeding palm over his mouth. His tongue stroked the open wound slowly. Her blood filled his mouth and he closed his eyes.

The smell of her blood and the sensation of his lips tugging and sucking on her skin were enough to make her jolt up, her eyes black and her fangs exposed. His tongue was still swirling over the cut, licking the bloody line on her palm, savoring the divine taste.

The blood of a young vampire was a little bit similar to what it tasted before the vampire was turned. He could feel a resemblance of what the blood of a human Caroline would taste like and that was driving him crazy with need. His other hand was holding her wrestling body from the waist, stilling her abrupt movements. The smell of her blood had awakened the pain and the need in her yet again.

He had to control himself, but he didn't let his fangs drop, no matter the temptation. He didn't want to bite her. His blood might be the cure, but her body was already giving out. So he kept drinking her blood from her wound. He was doing that for a reason, but that didn't stop him from getting lost in her taste. She kept moving in his hold so he pressed her body over his until he felt all her curves melting on him. He let go of her palm and he looked at her red, blood shot veiny eyes. All the light was lost now. Her vampire nature held another beauty. So much darkness inside such an angelic creature. It was obvious that she was aching, her eyes shiny with unshed tears.

This made him feel like he wanted to shake her out from her pain. It made him actually feel something. Feelings that were clouding his better judgement.

He wanted to provide warmth and shelter to that little girl. It was disturbing to think how much she had gotten under his skin. He shook his head and his eyes found hers. He had gotten his answer, her blood was at last untainted. The vervain had left her system. He could finally do what he wanted all along.

The moment his eyes found hers something happened and she stopped struggling. She took a deep breath and forced her face to change back. It took all her remaining strength, but she did it. She stared at his blue eyes.

He was shocked that she could do something like that. With the amount of pain and her need for blood her vampire face should stay on at least for hours. The wound on her palm was now closed but some drops were still lingering there. The smell was driving her insane, provoking the beast inside her. She knew what was coming next though, and that fear was enough to make her overcome any other feeling and thought.

"Please not that," she pled, all her resolve gone. She closed her eyes and shook her head right and left ignoring the pain that was spreading to her body with the movement. Deep inside her the memories of the past were creeping into her heart. She couldn't let him do that to her. She couldn't fight him, she was too weak, but her dread was growing.

His hand left her waist, but she wasn't opening her eyes. His hands wrapped around her two wrists, pulling her arms over his chest. She tried to struggle, but the pain in her body was making it useless and his grip was too strong. His free hand caressed her neck and moved lower. She didn't want to open her eyes. She couldn't. All she could hear were their breaths.

His fingertip travelled over the skin of her palm again and a moment later he placed it on her lips. It was wet. With her blood. He was taunting her to open her eyes. He pressed his bloody thumb on her lower lip pushing it a little further. His little game of temptation was more than she could handle. She shivered and trembled but she kept her mouth shut, her tongue inside her mouth. All she could see behind her closed eyelids was Damon compelling her. The smell of the blood was creating other memories. She remembered the night of the carnival. The man she killed. A drop of blood was now creating the same need in her now. She remembered killing that man, her shame and fear afterwards. But all she could feel was the memory of his blood running down her burning throat. It was a euphoric feeling, sublime, magnificent. She tried to resist, tears falling from her closed eyes, but the need for blood was too big. She knew that Klaus would drag the moment out forever if he had too. She wouldn't last long. The need for blood was holding her captive. It finally overcame her and in a flash she tried to lick her own blood from his finger and when he ripped it away her eyes shot open.

She didn't have the time to close them again, his gaze locked with hers, his pupils dilated. More tears fell from her eyes as he took control over her mind.

It was over.

* * *

There was no sun coming in Elena's room. The windows were closed. Caroline gently closed the door and stepped closer to Elena. Her friend was wrapped up in a blanket sitting in her bed, her knees pulled under her chin with her hands laced around them. She was really pale and her eyes all teary. Downstairs, Damon was yelling that he was going to go up and force Elena to transition one way or another and Stefan was the only one stopping him, telling him that this was Elena's decision to make. This wasn't easy for him either. When she had arrived at Elena's home minutes earlier Stefan opened the door for her, his stance and his eyes telling her everything she didn't want to hear.

When he had called half an hour before she had been dwelling in everything Klaus had done to her. Feeling trapped and used. Defenseless. Feeling like the way she used to feel before she was turned. She was thinking how she was now a puppet in his hands. She was reliving the whole night in her mind again and again. She wanted to scream, to ask for help, to speak to someone, but he had made sure she wouldn't.

When her mother returned some minutes after Klaus left she almost found her in the basement, her face, her upper body, her clothes, her hair all covered in blood. Thankfully, she had heard her mother parking the car and she sped up to her room and under the shower in less than seconds. The water cleansed her skin, but nothing more. Minutes later her mother came storming in her room, as the sun started rising, and told her that Alaric died. She didn't know what to say to that. Her mother told her that Alaric was about to reveal everything to the council members when he suddenly fell on his knees in pain, and then his skin grayed and he dropped dead. No one could understand what happened. Caroline did though and her heart shattered. Elena she had thought, that meant that Elena was dead.

It was that exact moment that Stefan called her. She left her house in seconds. She had to go to Elena. She had to help but when she stood outside Elena's house she couldn't find the strength to go in. Their lives were not supposed to be like this. It was then that Stefan opened the door silently telling her to come in.

" _She is upstairs, she…" he closed his eyes, his voice dropping low before continuing,_

" _She hasn't decided if she will transition…"_

" _The hell she won't!" came Damon's angry reply; he was barely holding himself from tearing everything apart._

" _That's enough Damon," Stefan said looking tired, barely keeping it together._

_Damon moved closer to Stefan with a deadly expression upon his face._

" _I will make it easier for you brother, she can hate ME forever if she wants to, but no matter what before the sun goes down she will feed on human blood even if I have to shove it down her throat myself"_

_Caroline looked straight to Damon's eyes and to Stefan._

" _I will go to her," she said._

" _Care…" Stefan's eyes pleaded with her, to convince Elena to change, to not let her die. Everyone has tried to convince her, but it seemed that no one could give a reason to Elena to want to change. Not even Jeremy._

_Caroline looked at Stefan and she saw her old friend again._

_He was old Stefan again, balanced and logical, her mentor and friend, the man that helped her when she changed into a vampire and was so completely lost, the same man that was now giving Elena the option, respecting her decisions no matter what those would be. Deep down this was killing him, he wanted Elena to stay, even as a vampire, and he couldn't stand there doing nothing, letting her die. But Elena wouldn't talk to any of them, not to Damon, not to him. She hugged Jeremy and maybe her brother would be her basic motive to transition, but she hadn't decided yet and time was ticking._

" _I know Stefan, but it is her decision to make, and I will support her no matter what she decides, no matter whom I will have to protect her from." Her look was one of fierce determination and Damon said nothing, for once he said nothing, because he knew that if he wanted to force Elena to do anything he would have to get through Stefan and Caroline but also deep down he wouldn't want to take Elena's choice away, he loved her too much to do that to her and that was breaking him apart._

_Caroline looked at both brothers and then went up the stairs, every step more difficult that the one before._

Caroline moved closer and sat at the edge of the bed next to Elena and waited. Jeremy was with Bonnie in his room still shaken up. He was the one that was there when Elena died. He was there and couldn't do anything to help his sister, and then Damon and Stefan went to the hospital unable to believe that they lost her until Meredith told Damon that Elena's concussion was a more sever head trauma and she had given her vampire blood in order to save her life, _his_ vampire blood. After that they took her straight home and Elena just closed herself in her room. She would only talk to Jeremy and Bonnie, but she also wanted to stay alone.

Caroline moved closer and without saying anything hugged Elena. This was not how their lives were supposed to be. They were eighteen, they should be full of life. Instead they were surrounded by death. This was supposed to be their last year in high school. They would go to college, they would grow old, get married, have children. Most of those dreams were gone now. All that was left were nightmares. Caroline cringed at that thought. This is how her life was going to be from now and on. A never-ending nightmare.

"How are you holding up?" she asked Elena.

Elena moved away from her arms and with the back of her palm swept her tears away and looked at Caroline with her most honest look.

"I don't know if I can do this, I don't…" she said feeling completely lost. Her time was running out.

Caroline smiled sympathetically and went and opened the shutters. The sun filled the room and Elena blinked.

"I know exactly how that feels," Caroline said, looking at the sun. She then turned and looked at her friend. If those were her last hours she should live them in the light. In the sun. "When I was turned I didn't know what was happening to me, I was all alone, scared. My transition was never a choice. You do have that choice."

"How am I supposed to decide if I want to live forever? This isn't right, Caroline, I never wanted to become a vampire," she whispered.

"You don't have to be if you don't want to, my dad didn't. He just …faded away." She let him go with no regrets, but she always carried the pain of his loss.

Elena bit her lip and looked at Caroline as she took a seat next to her.

"I will stay with you even if it is for those hours or if it is forever, you don't have to do this alone, Elena"

Elena stood up and looked at the mirror. She was fading away, she was dying. She looked at the photos she had pinned on the mirror. Her whole life was there. Stefan was there, Caroline, Bonnie, Damon. Jeremy, what would happen to Jeremy if she were to decide to let go? Could she do that to her baby brother? To leave him all alone? She looked at her mirror. She didn't know if she could do this.

Caroline kept looking at Elena. She was trying to stand by her, to help her and to support her decision no matter what that would be. But this was her best friend. She couldn't just stand by and lose her. Her dad died because he hated what she was, but Elena could handle it. Her compassion and her strength would always be there. Her dad died, but she wasn't going to let the same happen to Elena, not if she had a say in this. Determination filled her eyes and she stood up.

She stepped closer to Elena and turned her so she could look at her.

"It is not easy, but you are a fighter, you can do this! We can do this!" she tried to convince her but she had to give her a reason to want to live. A memory flashed in her mind, a time when she wasn't sure if she wanted to live. If there was any meaning in all of this.

Elena stayed silent and before Caroline even thought of what she was saying she heard herself telling Elena the same words that not a long time ago had made her to want to live.

"You can choose not to transition, if you really believe that turning into a vampire is going to make your existence have no meaning. If you really believe that, then I will stay with you and I will let you go. You are not alone, you don't have to this alone, but there are so much more outside that sunny window."

She took a deep breath, her heart aching.

"There is a whole world out there waiting for us. Great cities and art and music… _genuine beauty_ and you can have all of it. All you have to do is ask"

* * *

Some minutes later Caroline stepped down the stairs and went into the kitchen, Bonnie, Jeremy, Stefan and Damon looked up at her at the same moment. Their eyes full of sadness and worry.

She cleared her voice.

"Elena is going to need some blood…" she said and everyone in the room felt like they could breathe again.

Elena was going to become a vampire. She wasn't going to die today; she was going to live forever.

Nobody knew though if that was really a blessing or if it was a curse.

* * *

She was stronger that he thought, actually she was stronger than anyone gave her credit for. Before he came to Mystic Falls he had run a background check on all of them. Including his sweet baby vampire since back then he thought she would make a convenient sacrifice. Close to the doppelganger, shallow, superficial, unintelligent, weak, a naïve teenager and collateral damage were most definitely characteristics that didn't define her. She had great strength inside of her, unbelievable control. He had to admit he was impressed and after a thousand years that was not something that happened easily. Maybe that is why he wanted her so badly, she surprised him, always catching him of guard. At the beginning he was infatuated with her by her light, her humanity, her brutal honesty, but now, now he wanted to dive into her forever, to her mind, to her heart, to her soul.

She would like to believe that it was her humanity that made her who she was but in reality the vampire inside of her was just waiting to come out to play. Once she accepted who she really was she would make a great vampire, and in time and age she would be an unstoppable force. He would love to free her inner nature for her. When he was in her dream, he had allowed her a little bit of control at first, he wanted to tempt her, to make her crave blood, to wake up her desires and for a moment there she gave in, and she was passionate and explosive, but then something incredible happened. That little control he gave her was enough for her to start fighting him in her subconscious. He was an Original and she was a baby vampire not even one year old and she fought him so hard that she almost broke his connection. He couldn't believe it, but in her dream state, her subconscious knew it was him controlling her mind and tried to drive him out. He had never seen or experienced anything like this before, it turned out that the control issues Caroline had ran far deeper than anyone thought. She was always in control, and she was powerful enough to fight for dominance.

_He had her lying over his chest. Just a moment ago he had snapped her neck and she had fallen in to his hands helpless and unmoving. He took her in his arms, carried her to her bed and smiled. She was so beautiful it made him hurt. If she was any other he would have just taken her, by force, deceit or compulsion, but he didn't want a defenseless mindless slave by his side. He wanted to make her pay for her insolence, to subdue her. Yes, he wanted her to give in to him, but once she did he would cherish her like no other man ever could._

_He looked over her room and smirked. She had a paper cutter on her dresser; he took it and put it on the nightstand next to her bed. He climbed on the bed next to her, admiring her beauty in the darkness of the room. His fingers touched her lips like only a lover could and he moved her body over his, using his chest as her pillow. Her body on top of his was turning him on but he collected himself, he would wait for that reward to come. He waited patiently until her neck started healing, waited for the perfect moment. He would dive into her mind just before she revived herself and force her back to sleep. He waited patiently stroking her silky hair. When she was about to recover he applied pressure on her right temple with his hand and closed his eyes. She slightly moaned trying to wake up by instinct, but it was too late, he was in her mind now and he was controlling it. Her body relaxed over his and he smiled diving deeper in her thoughts. He could feel her need for freedom. Her soul was craving everything he could give her._

_He kept applying pressure to her right temple and smiling as he sensed her thoughts and feelings. He was right, she was strong, beautiful, full of light. He started creating the images he wanted her to see. Her mind was an empty canvas in his hands and he started painting. She relaxed even more in his hands and he started planting thoughts, ideas, and desires in her dream. He didn't overtake her mind completely. He left her a semblance of freedom. Enough so her real thoughts and needs would start getting mixed with her need and desire for him._

_He was enjoying himself immensely, his little game making him feel superior. Even though he was furious with her he was going to go easy on her in their first dream. If he were to let his anger overtake him right now he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to control himself and the dream would be horrific. He would have time for that in the future._

_Then the impossible happened. Her body started moving, resisting. He stiffened. He tried to focus and concentrate. Caroline was starting to wake up! How was that possible? She was fighting his control. She was reclaiming her own dreams back from him. His hand wrapped around her waist to make her stop moving but that seemed to make her movements even more abrupt. He tried to hold her down to get a better access in her mind._

" _No, wak… up…no…" she was muttering, groaning and whispering. It was like she was forcing and commanding herself to wake up. Trying to drive him out of her head. He had clearly underestimated her. He put both his hands on her temples and used all the experience he had collected over his years to calm her down and claim her dream completely. He would be damned if he would let a baby vampire defeat him in his own game…subconsciously!_

_Her eyes shot open. Her movements stopped. She was still in the dream, but she was fighting him with everything she had. Even her subconscious was fighting him. That infuriated him even more. His fingers pressed her temples almost crashing her bones. Bruises started forming where his fingers touched. Her skin was getting hotter and her forehead sweaty. Darkness enveloped them both. He connected his mind with hers and took her over completely. Her eyes closed and her body relaxed again._

_He wasn't about to make the same mistake again. She was an infant in comparison with him and even in her dreams she dared to defy him. She wouldn't find shelter not even in the deepest recesses of her mind. Her freedom was over, she belonged to him. As he went deeper in her dream he took all her free will away until she was a beautiful puppet in his hands. He was going to pull her strings until they were to break. If she was strong enough to fight him, then she was strong enough to fight his wolf form in her dream._

_He rubbed her temples and he heard her moan. Soon he would make her scream._

And he did exactly that. He wasn't satisfied until he made her scream her agony louder than ever. It was music in his ears.

He looked at the glass in his hands. It was full with blood up to the rim.

One of his hybrids was removing the two dead bodies from the living room. It was harder than he thought. When he left Caroline after compelling her he was craving for blood more than ever. Her blood had awakened something inside him. He used a great deal of power tonight. He was expecting it to be easy but she proved to be a challenge. So when he returned he ordered his hybrids to bring to him two girls. They had to look like her. Blond hair, green eyes, sweet face. He drained them while they screamed and even after that he wanted more.

He was tempted to compel their fear away but Caroline's screams still lingered in his mind and he wanted to relive the moment. Even though he had broken the curse and turned into a wolf only a few times. It wasn't because it was painful to do so. He just hadn't felt the need to do that, until tonight. In his dream he changed into his most primitive form. He let go, he didn't hold back. He was vicious and he enjoyed the thrill of hurting her. Her tears, her screams, her terror were taking away all the anger that he had been feeling all day long. Every bite, scratch and wound he inflicted on her in the dream was more painful than the one before. All he could see and hear at that moment was her toasting and laughing when she thought he was desiccated. He would never have dared to hurt her in reality but the same rules didn't apply in the dream world.

He had to admit that having her completely under his mercy was giving him a sense of power that felt endless. It was an amazing feeling. The only moment that could compare with this was when he broke his curse.

This was a little bit different though, it had two sides. One was divine and the other was a struggle to him.

He didn't want to admit it, not even to himself, but hurting her was a feeling that was also leaving him emptier than ever. He was totally connected with her in her dream. He was feeling her pain, her last thoughts as she thought she was going to die. It made him angry that he had felt the need to step back. To heal her. This is why he became even more brutal. The more he wanted to stop, the more he was turning the nightmare into a sea of blood. He was feeling sick and high at the same time.

Her look when she woke up was enough to haunt him for eternity. Then there was the way she gazed up at him when she pleaded him not to compel her, the way she looked at him was enough to make him reconsider. He almost backed down. Being relenting and weak wasn't going to get him anywhere, though. He had tried that. He had tried to make her see that there was something more in him than just a monster. It wasn't enough for her so her fear and pain shouldn't be enough to make him stop.

In the past when he had been tempted to give her a dream he had always thought it would be a beautiful one. To make her feel good, free. To spend some time with her in places he had seen over the centuries. He had even been tempted to give her more sensual dreams. To make her want him the way he wanted her. He had respected her privacy, though. He didn't want to hurt her in any way, to be honest a part of him still didn't.

He kept drinking his blood feeling his gums burning. He couldn't stop thinking of her. He replayed every detail of the night they had again and again in his mind. She had sensed when he was ready to compel her and she had made her fangs retreat no matter how excruciating than must have been for her. Especially in the state she was in.

How did she do that? He hadn't seen anything like that in all his years. He wanted to see how much inner strength she possessed. He wanted to toy with her limitations. To see how resistant she really was. Most importantly he wanted to make her surrender. In time, she was going to make a magnificent vampire. He was sure of that. With his guidance and his care she would rise to become one of the most powerful and feared vampires to walk this earth. She had potential. Tonight she proved that to him beyond any shadow of a doubt. She was special, unique and now she was his. He couldn't wait to explore all of her dreams, her hopes, and her fears. Everything she has ever hidden from everyone. People's secret dreams are what makes them fight and hope. All of her dreams now belonged to him.

There was a moment of guilt. It wasn't in his initial plans for things to turn the way they did. He was going to give her time. To watch her from afar. He would wait for her for centuries if he had to. He would always be near her, waiting. He wanted so much to be the one to show her what genuine beauty meant.

He still remembered the way she looked at him the night of her birthday. She was lying in her bed, broken and without hope waiting for the end to come. She thought he had come to kill her. Truth to be told back then her life didn't mean anything to him, she was just a pawn. All he wanted was to get even with Stefan and gain the Sherriff's support. What better way to do that than go after Caroline? And how ironic would it be if Tyler, her beloved lover bit her?

But what turned out to be the greatest irony of all was the outcome of his plan. The moment he laid his eyes on her something did change. She looked so fragile and so innocent that he forgot all about his plans. One look at those beautiful eyes of hers, filled with such insecurity and pain, was enough for him to remember all those moments in his life that he was alone and in pain.

She reminded him all of his doubts and the hopelessness that came along with the misfortune of being an immortal. In that moment he wanted to soothe her. He tried to make her see that life had meaning. She was too young, too beautiful; she was just beginning her journey. So he gave her a glimpse of all the beauty that awaited her.

He gave her the beautiful sugarcoated picture, though. He failed to mention that in order to possess such beauty and to have a thousand more birthdays you had to pay a price. Immortality, forced or chosen, was a Faustian bargain.

He told her that all she had to do was to ask. He didn't tell her that asking meant that she would be making a deal with the devil. Because genuine beauty does comes with pain. For everything beautiful there is something ugly too.

You get to live a thousand lives, to see the world and experience genuine beauty, but you lose your soul in the process.

The night he fed her his blood and gave her a choice he realized how far gone he truly was. She said that she didn't want to die and her words burned him like fire. He didn't want to die either so over the centuries he fought for his survival. What he got in return for all this struggle was not the world's genuine beauty. It was heartache and solitude. He had witnessed miracles, art and music. He had travelled and wandered for a thousand years searching for wonders. None of that had managed to take his pain away, but within a moment she had awoken all of his fears and hopes.

In the moment that he had her into his arms he came to terms with the reality of his existence. Still, he craved wanted one more chance to live. To see all the beauty of the world through her eyes. He couldn't take the pain anymore. He couldn't be alone anymore. He needed her. He needed her beauty in his life.

Rebekah stepped in and watched him with curiosity. She knew that look all to well. She had hoped that she wouldn't see it in his eyes again, but unfortunately she was wrong to hope such a thing. The way his eyes were shining was the same way he looked when he was obsessed with his curse. She had travelled with him for nine hundred centuries, she knew how obsessive and destructive he could be when he really wanted something. Deep in her heart she was so sad for him. He was never free, he was always chasing after chimaeras.

She touched his shoulder. He didn't turn.

"We are free, Alaric is gone," she said smiling. After killing Elena she finally realized that this was it. After a thousand years she was free to live again. She and Nik wouldn't have to keep looking behind their backs.

He sighed, Rebekah was right, they were free but the price was too big. It meant that his blood source for his hybrids was gone. He was losing everything. His family never wanted him. All of them, one after another turned on him. He waited for a hundred years to break the curse and become what he was meant to be. He had been evading Mikael for centuries, living in fear. His mother returned from the grave only to make sure she would kill him. Even Stefan, a man that he had considered a friend didn't hesitate in desiccating him. And now one more dream of his was lost. There were only a few liters of Elena's blood left. Everything and everyone were turning against him. He thought he could have his family, but he couldn't trust them, not really. He was alone. He needed Caroline now more that ever. He didn't want be alone anymore. He needed her.

"It is over Nik, no one is coming after us ever again," Rebekah said in a hopeful voice. She could see that her brother was lost in his thoughts. She loved him more than anyone, he wasn't alone. He would always have her. If only she could make him see that. Then she finally noticed something else. Loud sounds were coming from the above floors. She looked at him surprised.

It was then that he smiled. This time there was a genuine smile showing his amusement.

"There are some reconstructions taking place upstairs," he said in a nonchalant tone.

"What reconstructions?" She suspected that she was about to hear something she really wasn't going to like.

"My hybrids are connecting my room with the guest room next to it." he smiled wickedly.

"Please tell me it is not what I think it is." Rebekah looked at her brother exasperated.

He smirked. He was having the guest room next to his turned into a bedroom for Caroline. He also had his hybrids take down the wall that separated the rooms. He was having them build an inside door in between the rooms so that he could always have free access to her room. Not that any door or lock could keep him away from her for that matter.

"Great Nik, this is just great, don't tell me you are bringing _her_ here," she said annoyed.

"Am I to remind you that this is _my_ house? I get to decide who stays here."

The finality in his voice was making her to want to take his precious paintings and throw them on his head!

Klaus laughed at her expression. He could swear that his sister's temper could compete with his own. If he wasn't mistaken there was also another fiery blond that had a similar temper. He closed his eyes. One way or another all of his thoughts always seemed to revolve around Caroline lately.

"Relax Bekah, she isn't coming … _for now,_ " he whispered the last two words mostly to himself.

He was just preparing for the future. For the time that he would be fed up of having her anywhere that wasn't next to him. Something was telling him that this time was soon to come.

Rebekah looked outside the glass doors. Hybrids were everywhere.

"How many of your mindless slaves you had brought back Nik?" she said irritated.

" _All of them"_

She stared at him. He smirked. This meant war and they both knew it.

Let the games begin he thought. It has been quite the time, centuries actually, since he held a town under siege. From now on no one would come in or out this pony town without his permission.

_This was going to be fun._


	4. When the Clock Strikes Midnight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Memories are in italics  
> \- Many thanks to my beta Anastasia Dreams

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_Do not go gentle into that good night,_  
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;  
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

**Dylan Thomas**

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_**Chapter 4 : When the Clock Strikes Midnight**_.

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He was about to change his own game. His game, his rules he thought with menace.

Deep down as weird as it may sound he was pleased with this turning of events.

Elijah wasn't with him anymore and he was the one that was the voice of reason. He was the one that always as his right hand had managed to keep his anger in check.

But for centuries now Elijah has been gone. So maybe, sometimes, his temper was making him do things that he would eventually regret. Like the little game he started with Caroline. He wanted revenge and he went for it. Now, he knew he was wrong. So he had to change his game. He wouldn't relent, but he would change the rules.

In the end the result still remained. Caroline was his. Or she would be. He licked his lips in anticipation. Initially he wanted to take revenge and now he wanted more than that. He wanted her soul. Her devotion.

When he calmed himself he came to realize that he needed a new direction in life. His plans for his hybrid army were destroyed while danger still lurked. He had broken his curse and his enemies almost took him down. So now he needed something else. Not just revenge – for he would take that too – but a new light. A light that would guide him in the centuries to come. That would give him hope, make him stronger.

And he was watching that light right now.

He kept himself hidden far into the woods. He could see her perfectly from where he was standing, but she couldn't see him. One of the perks of vampire sight was that he could be standing miles away and still have a clear vision like he was standing just a few meters near.

She was talking with Stefan and they seemed to be upset. He rolled his eyes. Elena. They probably were talking about his poor little doppelganger. This entire situation was boring him to no end.

Caroline had a beautiful heart and she cared. For everyone but him he bitterly reminded himself. He admired her loyalty and he couldn't wait to have that same loyalty targeted on him. Right now, though, seeing her spending all this time helping Elena with her transition, leaving her own life behind and being at the beck and call of the Salvatore brothers was making him want to violently shake some sense into her.

Why was she wasting her life like this? Why couldn't she see that the whole world was waiting for her?

This was the life she wanted for herself? Serving all those ungrateful people that were beneath her?

He would have to change that. One way or another. Unfortunately, he was convinced that she would fight back, but they had reached the point of no return. He couldn't stay away from her anymore and she needed to be taught a lesson. She needed to learn that she belonged to him. He needed to teach her how to appreciate who she really was and that she had to follow him. This wasn't a game anymore for him. He promised her punishment and now he had to make her see things his way.

It's not like she had a choice either. Her fate was sealed the moment he saw her in that classroom fighting against his sister's hold as Tyler was transitioning into a hybrid. He had noticed her then and that was the beginning that set everything in motion. He wouldn't have chosen her as a target the night of her birthday if he weren't drawn to her.

And he was so drawn to her. To her fire. To her beauty.

She was like a butterfly. And just like a butterfly is unable to see the beauty of her wings Caroline refused to acknowledge how truly beautiful she really was. She hid her own nature, lingering in her human past.

Elena, Stefan, Bonnie, her mother, that bartender and his idiotic hybrid are her connections to humanity. Her gravity to nothingness. If he was to cut her off from them, then how much time would it take for her to let go of all those human conventions that held her back?

He had to think everything through very carefully. He had told her that this was her punishment and part of him still believed that it was. But he knew that this was more than that. He had to sway her to his side. Take everything away and give her a new reality. He had to tread carefully. She was stronger that she looked. He had to break her resistance, shatter it to pieces.

The sight of her celebrating his desiccation triggered the rage in him, but now that he could think clearly he knew how to proceed. He had to tempt the vampire inside her. To make her surrender more control to her vampiric nature. The night he went to her room gave him great insight. A plan was already forming in his head. At first he wanted to give her nightmares as a way of tormenting her. Now he knew that they could be such a useful tool. Torture and seduction. Pleasure and pain. He would give her pain and then when she would be weak from it and wouldn't be able to take it anymore he would give her never-ending pleasure.

After a thousand years he knew how to provoke a vampire.

He was sorry that he had to use such methods with her. If she had taken him up on his offer he would have slowly taught her to control her new side.

Now he had to torture and tempt her until there was no control left. Set all her demons free. Then she would be his and his alone.

He observed her more carefully. Like a hunter would with his prey. Her beautiful features. Her elegant movements. She was exquisite. Her hair shone under the sun like a golden halo. She seemed like a vision of innocence, so full of light, but now he knew that she was much more than just that. She looked fragile but she wasn't. She looked weak but she wasn't. Her light was bright and pure but there was also darkness inside of her. He had seen it. He had tasted it and now he craved more.

It had been a week since the night he went in her room and controlled her dreams and compelled her to do his bidding. One whole week that he kept his distance. He was burning for her, but he chose to give her some time. He knew perfectly well that this time was just making her more anxious, more fearful. He could tell by the way she was looking outside her window every night. By the way she was trying to keep herself from sleeping. Always looking behind her back and jerking her head at every unnatural noise. He smirked at that. He was playing the cat and mouse game with her. Not enough to drive her off the edge, but enough to wake up insanity inside her. Prolonging the inevitable was the worse torture for someone as inexperienced as his little sweetheart.

He had his best hybrids tracking her every move. Watching her all the time from a safe distance. She was under his supervision now. Under his protection and his control. He was pleasantly surprised to know that she had kept her distances from Tyler. Maybe she was learning after all. Or she was feeling the presence of his hybrids and was trying to protect her beloved boyfriend from his rage. Either way he couldn't be more happy about how easily it was to tear them apart.

As for him, well he was always near her and somehow he knew that she could feel his presence too. The posture of her body was always changing when he was near. She would freeze and her eyes would scan around trying to figure out if that creepy emotion was just her imagination or if he was really near her. Due to his compulsion she couldn't react the way she wanted. She was pretending to everyone that everything was all right with her. The same happy and bubbly Caroline. But he could tell that whenever he was near her she could sense it and her body would fight his compulsion. Of course, it was always a lost battle and no one would ever guess that something wasn't right. But, she knew and without anyone else noticing she was trying to see if he was really there.

She should have known that he would never stay far away from her. Maybe she was still hoping that he had changed his mind and he would leave her be from now on? One week was enough to scare her more and at the same time give her false hope.

He leaned over the hard surface of the bark of the tree and kept watching her. She was now smiling at Stefan and for a moment he let himself imagine what it would be like if her smiles were dedicated to him. If her face would light up in his presence.

He needed her so much that he was hurting. He yearned for her heart, her soul. For everything she could give to him. He smile, her light. One loving touch. If only she would willingly come to him on her own. He would give her the whole world.

He had been obsessed with breaking the curse over the years. But this was a different obsession. He didn't know if he could wait like he did with his curse. His patience was wearing thin. Once he had told her that he could wait for her, for a day, even for a century. Now he knew that he simply couldn't. The first nights of the week that passed he had been draining women that looked like her. After that he was waiting for the right moment to go near her. Always counting the minutes. Always watching her.

She was in his veins now and he couldn't get her out. Every night he was dreaming of her. He couldn't pull her out of his mind no matter how hard he would try. He had the last bags of Elena's blood. He should be going after werewolves. Building his army. Instead of doing that he was always near her.

She was always running away from him and she was all he could taste with all his senses. She was under his skin, in his veins, in his mind. He was sure that if he had a heart she would be there too. He was pathetic. He knew he was, but he had to come to terms with the fact that nothing was going as planned. He needed her as humans need oxygen. If he had to break her in order to have her then so be it.

Everything was meant to break sooner or later anyway. She wasn't an exception. She always relied on the wrong people that would always leave her behind. He would never do that. He wanted her forever.

A part of him was sorry for what he was about to do to her. For what he already did to her. But another still wanted to relive that moment. The moment she trembled in his arms. When he left her all he could think was how mad he was for the resistance she has shown when he was controlling her dream. He couldn't think anything else except for the fact that she had dared to defy him even in her sleeping state. Now, that he was calm he was actually impressed by her. He admired her and wanted to see how much pressure would he have to apply before she would bend and break.

_But there were more from that night. She hadn't just fought his mind control. She had also surrendered to him even if it was through compulsion._

He was such a fool to be driven by his rage and not to have concentrated on that.

After the torture he drove her mad with desire that night and now the same desire was taunting him. _What was she doing to him?_

In a thousand years he had claimed and seduced a thousand women. But that urging need he was feeling now was something he had never experienced. He wanted to adore her mind and her body. It was a hunger that was leaving him weak with need.

His body was coming alive even when he wasn't touching her. He could still hear the erratic beating of her heart. The way her arousal filled the air. He could still remember how he desperately resisted the need to ravish her at that moment.

It was supposed to be a torture for her. But instead it backfired. His body was always hard and hot for her now. His control was gone. He was a man that had lived for more than a thousand years and all he could think was the pleasure he wanted to taste again and again from her. Not only with his mind, as he did that night. But also with his body.

This was indeed the point of no return. Her fear, her submission. All she could give to him. All her emotions, her thoughts and her passion. All of this was driving him insane. This was a game that he had to win. Compelling her was the hardest thing he ever did and he was dying to do it again.

_._

_._

_Time stood still. Unmoving and unforgiving._

_She had been compelled before; she knew the feeling too well, she knew what it felt to lose your will, your thoughts. She knew perfectly well what it meant to wait in those fleeting moments that someone has you under their spell to have your own free will robbed away from you. Oh yes, she remembered that every passing moment felt like eternity._

_Nothing had prepared her for this moment though. With him she was truly and utterly terrified. Klaus wouldn't just play with her body. She knew that death would be the easy way out and he wasn't going to let her go so easily. With Damon she was prepared to die. After she became a vampire all those memories came rushing back to the surface. Even now that she remembered everything sometimes that time of her life seemed fuzzy. She remembered the fear, the despair. All the memories were in her head, but they did seem like a blur now. Like a nightmare that passed her by._

_Now that Klaus was holding her face in his palms, tenderly like a lover would, she realized that she should never underestimate the disturbing power of a nightmare._

_She was indeed prepared to die. Back then and now. She never wanted to die, not really, but if push came to shove she knew that she would gladly give away her life for all those that she loved._

_But now she wasn't sure if she could deal with what was about to come next._

_Her heart wasn't beating anymore. After the nightmare he gave her it felt like she was completely drained. There was no blood pumping through that muscle anymore. And still it felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest. Like it was still beating, counting every second. All she could feel was the hunger, the pain and the dreadful feeling that her future was now in his hands._

_She could still feel the essence of her own blood taunting her. He had tempted her with his bloody thumb,_ _using her own blood against her and she gave in to temptation. It was all that it took. She opened her eyes that in the same second she could feel that they turned bloodshot again and he didn't even allow her to relish the taste of that single drop. All he wanted was her free will and he took it leaving her craving for blood and absolution._

_She felt her skin heating up and in the same moment freezing. The cold was an illusion she knew. It was coming out of her soul and was spreading to her arms and down her back. She could feel her face covered in flames. His fingers were caressing her cheeks, feathering over the hard veins that surrounded her bloodshot eyes. She was so ashamed to have her face turned into one of a demon in front of him. It was like admitting her true nature to her torturer. Giving him more ammunition against her. Letting him know that she was just a monster like everyone else._

_The blue dilated color of his eyes was still holding her prisoner and all her body was numb. Her shame was unbearable but he was looking at her almost with adoration. His fingertips were dancing around the tough skin of her vampiric face like it was something exciting and mesmerizing. That touch was sending shivers all over her body and that was causing her even more pain, but she couldn't move. She could hardly even breathe._

_He couldn't stop admiring the sight he had in front of him. His beautiful Caroline always had a bright light that surrounded her, but now that she has turned into the magnificent vampire he had in front of him that light turned into darkness. One that was drawing him even closer. Images of blood and of the damned souls of the underworld lingered in those beautiful vampiric eyes of her. She was enchanting before. Now she was a Goddess. And she was his. All the rage he was feeling for her insolence was forgotten now that he had her like this._

_The vampire inside him was craving her more than he craved blood. He wanted to take her right now, with her wild need for blood, her black bloody eyes and those shiny fangs in the dim light. Images of primal passionate sex flashed in front of his eyes as his fingers kept drawing patterns over the skin of her face. She was such a sensual being and she didn't even know the power she possessed. A siren, a seductress._

_He could almost feel the tip of his fangs emerging from his gums ready to penetrate the soft skin of her neck. He didn't care that his bite was poisonous. His blood was the cure. He wanted his poison to drive her mad and his cure to relieve her. He wanted to be her damnation and her only salvation. But what he wanted even more was to feel her tasting him at the exact moment he would taste her. His whole body throbbed with need. He wanted, he needed, to feel her sharp canines embedding his skin. To feel her drinking from him._

_Flesh to flesh, blood to blood. The most intimate and profound connection two vampires can have._

_Never before had he allowed anyone to bite him. To drink his centuries old untainted blood. The night he saved her from the bite he couldn't really understand why he had allowed her to sink her fangs into his skin. All he knew back then was that he wanted to prolong the moment._

_Like he was doing now._

_He could feel her thirst rising. Her mind losing all control. Her need for blood and her psychosomatic pain were taking over. She was lost to the deepest needs a vampire could ever have._

_Klaus took a sharp intake of breath. All he wanted right now was to take her in the most tender and savage way he could. One that he had perfected in his thousand years of existence. To hear her plead and beg. To give her immeasurable pleasure and pain._

_He vowed to himself that this moment was soon to come and only God and the devil knew that the only promises and vows that he kept on the pain of death were those that he made to himself. Her fate was sealed._

_Klaus relished in her fear. He smiled like only the devil could. He could feel her fear radiating from her whole being. He could see in her eyes that she knew that whatever his plans were for her they would be far worst than death. And she was right._

_What she didn't know was that he felt like he was incapable of killing her. Death would only take her away from him and he wasn't going to allow that. Not ever._

_He could feel his obsession rising. Feeding all his twisted thoughts. His thumb caressed the tip of her fang that was pressing against her lip._

_He knew from experience how hard yet sensitive the fangs of a vampire were. Especially those of a baby vampire like his precious, Caroline. Only one touch and fire would spread from her mouth straight to her core. His finger followed the curve of her upper lip and then touched her other exposed fang too. Soon he felt her tremble even more. His eyes were still locked with hers. The more his compulsion lingered the more her state of mind changed. Waves of lust were crushing her slowly._

_After a thousand years he had perfected the technique of compulsion. If it was an art he certainly was an artist. He could ignite primal feelings without having to order them by words. All he had to do was focus enough. Now that she was at his mercy the temptation was too much and he had to give in to it. His rage had left him. He knew that after this he would still be furious, but right now all he could feel was the need to give her more sensations. To teach her without a touch what lust and need really meant for a vampire. His hand circled around her waist bringing her closer to him enjoying the fact that her fear was increasing. Fear and passion. A deadly mixture. His eyes dilated more and shone into the darkness._ _He heard her moan. Soon enough he felt her shivering in his arms, her breathing becoming even more uneven._

_The pain from before still lingered in her body and he smiled. He had hurt her in her dream and he was about to compel her to complete submission so maybe first a little gift was in order. He didn't want to resort to such methods with her. Compelling her was the last thing he wanted to do but she left him no choice._

" _You are feeling no pain anymore, only the need for blood," Klaus gently said. "Don't change your face back." His hypnotic voice commanded her, knowing that without the pain it would be easier for her to change into her human features and he didn't want that. "Relax sweetheart and don't hold back," he whispered and he felt her whole body relaxing into his arms. Her dark eyes focused only on him._

_He touched her black spider veins again. He wasn't going to take her tonight, but he wanted her to know to whom her body belonged from now on. Also ,it wouldn't be that bad to give her a taste of what was going to come in the near future._

_He knew that his eyes were now the only thing in this world existing for her._

_He concentrated and felt her shaking in his arms. He could feel his needs passing through him and into her._

_She wanted to talk, but she couldn't. She wanted to breathe, but she couldn't. The blue of his orbs had a torrential influence on her. It was like she could feel his voice into her mind. Talking, whispering, taunting her with unimaginable thoughts and mental images. Liquid fire surged slowly into her bones and then ran even more slowly into her veins._

_She could feel her skin turning into roaring fire. Her pulse rising. He had ordered her to relax and now her body was doing the exact opposite. She wasn't holding back. Through the magnitude of his compulsion she could feel his hands roaming over her naked body._

_In the back of her mind she knew that her clothes were still on, that his one hand was holding her waist and his other cupping her cheek, but soon all rational thoughts and facts vanished. She wanted to writhe, squirm, thrash. Her body was aching. Her nerve endings were screaming. The blood thirst became unbearable. All she could feel was blood. She was swimming in the thick liquid essence. She could feel the vampire inside her taking charge._

_The need became unbearable. She felt like his hands were caressing her flesh, her most tender parts. Moving slowly over her every inch. Deeper and deeper until there was nothing left but her need to explode into thousand pieces. Molten heat spread through her veins, following her blood straight to her most erotic zones. It was uncontrollable. Red haze engulfed her. Sweat was running all over her. All she could feel was her muscles tightening. Her flesh stretching. Her core drenching. She sank her fangs into her lips drawing blood. Feeling it falling from her mouth to her chin._

_What was he doing to her?_

_All was whirling except his eyes. Demanding. Controlling. Savaging. It was like he was part of her body. She could feel him thrusting inside her. Again and again and again until her whole world exploded with a force that made her scream his name and left her panting in his arms. She couldn't tell if it was pleasure or pain. After the aftershock there was more to come. She went into a frenzy of agonizing pleasure_. _When she wasn't sure if she could survive any more, another climax was hitting her with even bigger force. Her body had completely surrendered to the vampire inside her and all her senses were alert and screaming. She had never felt anything like this before. It wasn't stopping, it was just becoming wilder. And then all she could feel was crushing back to earth through ecstatic ripples of exhilaration._

_The only thing that was left was his eyes._

_Time lost its meaning. Minutes passed by and she was still prisoner under his gaze. Her whole self had vanished. Caroline didn't exist anymore. Only her most primal instincts were present. She just had the most mind blowing multiple orgasms of her life without even a real touch and his eyes were still locked on hers. The only thing left was her completely exhausted and numb body. And the blood lust. Her fangs were more extended and her eyes bloodier than ever. She could barely hear him laughing. She could feel him inhaling deeply. Taking in the scent of her arousal that still lingered in the air._

" _You are more amazing than I thought you would be sweet Caroline," his voice felt like whip on her skin, "consider this a gift, with more to come" his tone was so low that if she wasn't a vampire she wouldn't have heard him, "where were we before you came undone love?" he said prolonging the moment even more._

_He smirked and brought her sated body even closer._

" _Oh yes, in the part where you will yield to me, more than you just did."_

* * *

The sun momentarily blinded her and yet again she felt that eerie feeling of two cold eyes watching and scanning her whole body. Her senses became more alert and she felt her breath quickening. She could swear that he was somewhere around, but she could not see him anywhere.

Next to her Stefan kept talking to her about Elena and she was trying to stay focused, but it wasn't an easy task. Elena has lost control more than once in her first week of transition. She even attacked Jeremy and now she had moved into the boarding house.

At the beginning she had thought of inviting her to her house, but Klaus's compulsion prevented her. She told everyone that with her mother living in the house it wouldn't be a good idea. She told them that Stefan and Damon had decades of experience when it came to vampirism. She told everybody anything, that would keep Elena and anyone away from her house, in the most convincing way. What she was dying to say and she couldn't was that she needed their help too. That she was trapped inside her own body and that she needed them to see that everything was just messed up. Klaus was playing her like a puppet on a string and she couldn't fight back.

It had been a week now and every single time that she closed her eyes she could feel him compelling her. Taking her choices away. God, how much she hated him! He made her feel like she was useless little girly Caroline again. Weak and disposable.

She had to find a way to fight back. But every time she was thinking that he would come to her dreams again, that he would be anywhere near her fear was consuming her. He had managed to scare her and now she was trapped in his grasp.

She wanted to cry, to scream, to yell, to find someone to save her, but instead of that when she was around people she was brightly smiling and when she was alone she was always on edge fearing that he could be back. She knew he was playing with her. She knew that he was too strong, at the same moment her mind kept searching for ways to defend herself. Anything, to find a way out of his compulsion. To find a loophole to his commands. Nothing was helping.

She couldn't defeat him in her dreams. He was an Original and she was a baby vampire. She was driving herself mad to find a solution, but nothing was coming to her. Her neurotic self kept going on to every single detail again and again. She wasn't just going to stand there and let him do whatever he wanted with her.

She knew that she had to keep her sanity in check. Paranoia wasn't helping and right now Elena needed her. Hell, even Stefan needed her. She wasn't going to let Klaus stop her from caring and helping the people that she loved. No way in hell she was going to allow that. She was still Caroline Forbes, she was a survivor and she had always managed to keep her smile on no matter how much that hurt her. She should never forget that. She would have to hold on to that until the time she would find a way out of this mess. There had to be a solution. Somehow.

And yet her submission was a given. She was trying to give courage to Stefan. To tell him that everything would be ok. That Elena was going to find her balance when in reality everything seemed to be crumbling down. She tried to scan the forest around her again for any sign of him. During the days of the last week she couldn't shake the feeling that she was constantly been watched. There were some moments that the feeling was almost too much for her to bear. She was absolutely certain on those moments that _**he**_ was near. And yet he wasn't making an appearance.

She tried to breath. She could still feel him holding her. Compelling her. He hadn't touched her. Not really. But she could still feel the heat and the desire rushing over her in waves. Seven days now and her skin was still tingling at the memory. She didn't want to feel that. She wanted to pretend it never happened, but there were moments that she could feel like the vampire inside her was crawling out in order to try and relive that experience.

Every morning her breathing was rough and uneven. She could feel her body missing all those sensations that he gave her and that was driving her mad with rage. He had basically violated her mind in the worse way possible and her body wanted to go through that again?

Too bad that those white oak stakes were destroyed. She could use some of them right now even if that meant that she and part of the vampire population would end up dead along with him. What she knew for sure was that she couldn't go through another night like that again.

She just couldn't.

_._

_._

_He seemed to be enamored with her reactions._

_She was feeling like an empty body now. Her needs were fulfilled, but she was feeling emptier that ever. She wanted to fall down and never get up again. She could feel her relaxed muscles still tingling, yearning for more. She felt repulsed and disgusted with herself and with him. Whatever it was that he did to her she had enjoyed it to no end and that was making her loathe him even more. Her thirst was awakened even to a greater extent. If she weren't under his compulsion she would bite him and drain him with no second thought. All she was feeling was her need for blood, which to her shame increased her lust. She wanted to hide and never see him again. For some moments she was not a person, she was nothing more than an animal. He had turned her into a bloodthirsty lusty vampire._

_He didn't have that right. But she couldn't fight him. Her thoughts somehow were now clear, but her mind was still unable to react to his hypnosis._

_This was the beginning of the end. He was going to compel her to do whatever he wanted now and she couldn't do anything to stop him._

_Tears started falling from her eyes to her cheeks. She couldn't prevent them from falling and she hated that this was one more thing that she was doing in front of him._

_Through the haze she could see that his expression changed like her tears were causing him pain. He was now wiping them away with his thumbs in gentle strokes trying to sooth her._

" _No sweetheart, don't cry, just take deep breaths and all is going to be over soon." His voice was so tempting that all she could do was blindly obey._

_Whenever Damon had compelled her all she could feel was fear and confusion. This was different. She still had her own thoughts and she was feeling a strange calmness now. She took deep breaths and her tears slowly ended and she found herself leaning into his touch._

" _Let me see your eyes Caroline."_

_All fear was banished now. The more she was looked into his blue eyes the more she lost her will to fight back. Her face changed back and she felt relief claiming her._ _She felt like she was floating._

_Her green eyes shone in the darkness and he smiled looking at those beautiful eyes of hers._

" _That's more like it." His voice was low and commanding. He was trying to make this easier for her. He knew this was something that had to be done but for some reason he couldn't stand to see her cry. All the pleasure he derived from her pain ended the moment those tears sparkled in her eyes._

_He took a deep breath and focused. It was time to end this._

_This time he concentrated like never before. He had to be sure that nothing would be able to break his compulsion._

" _From now on unless I tell you otherwise you will stop using vervain. Not even a single drop. If anyone asks you are still drinking it."_

_He smiled deviously._

" _This is going to be our little secret love._ _You will not mention to anyone anything about this night or any other that will follow. You will go on living the way you used to and you will give no conscious or unconscious signs to anyone about what is happening. You will make sure that no one will ever even suspect that anything is going on or that there is anything wrong or different with you."_

_He saw how her eyes were losing focus to anything except his orders. He didn't believe that he would feel so bad doing that to her, but he had to make sure that she would be subdued and under his control._

_He kept thinking about the details and what he was about to order her to do, but that pain in his heart was clouding his better judgement. He shook those thoughts out. His mind had to be clear for his compulsion to be unbridgeable. A thousand years of merciless slaughters, of bringing death and havoc to his enemies and a little blonde girl with bright green eyes was making him feel guilty for simply compelling her._

_This was one of the reasons he wanted her so much. She was part of his mind now. She was etched upon his feelings. He had to have her and he would. He took a deep breath. This would be how his punishment would be served. In these next words._

" _You won't try to stop this and you will not let anyone else intervene either. I will be letting you know when I will be coming to you. From that moment on you won't drink any blood and no matter what at midnight you will be back at your place. You will come to your room, make your self-comfortable and you will lie at your bed waiting for me. When the clock strikes midnight you will fall into a deep sleep."_

" _When the clock strikes midnight," she repeated in an unemotional tone while one more tear fell to her cheek._

_He didn't wipe it off this time. He let it fall and smiled with menace. This was enough for tonight. He had to leave her and he had to do it soon. Because her body still had the scent of her desire and he could smell it on her. He could still hear her screaming her name as she was uncontrollably shaking in his arms. He wasn't a saint and he was already passed his limits. If he wasn't going to leave now this night would have a whole different outcome._

_His eyes dilated one more time giving her a little more control but not completely. This was still his punishment and he was about to deliver his last blow._

_She wanted to shake his hand of her face. His commands were settling in her mind and she wanted to scream. Why wasn't he letting her go? What else did he want to do with her tonight? What was left? He had done everything…_

" _You have such passion sweetheart, I can't wait to taste it," he said caressing her tangled hair, making her cringe. "All in good time. For now though I want you to concentrate on your body again. You can feel the pain returning again. Unbearable. Now more than before. You can't take it any longer. All you feel is the pain and the need for blood. When I leave indulge in it love."_

_She could feel the pain claiming her again, bringing chaos, misery and delirium. All desire was gone now. All she could sense were her eyes turning bloody again and her fangs coming out. She wanted to make this stop. Anything to make this stop. Before she knew it he was gone. She wanted to scream in torment, but the pain was so much that she couldn't force any sound out._

.

.

Stefan's concerned voice brought her back to the present.

"I don't know what to do Caroline. She seems so lost and sometimes I think that I am the last one that can teach her about control," He said, running his hand through his hair.

Everything seemed to be a mess in there lives lately. Stefan thought that she could help Elena with her blood thirst. Like she was doing so well with hers? If they only knew! This last week has been a torment. Memories of her running to her house's basement where she kept the blood and getting lost in it flashed in front of her eyes.

These last days have been a torment for her and at the same time she was trying to keep Elena's blood lust at bay. She felt like she was leading a secret life. There was the happy and carefree Caroline for everyone that knew her and then there was the terrified one that couldn't control her fear and her vampire side like she should.

Caroline looked at Stefan smiling. She had perfected her poker face those last days. She was dying to do something in order to let everyone know that she needed their help, but her body wasn't obeying her.

" _This is going to be our little secret love._ _You will not mention to anyone anything about this night or any other that will follow. You will go on living the way you used to and you will give no conscious or unconscious signs to anyone about what is happening. You will make sure that no one will ever even suspect that anything is going on or that there is anything wrong or different with you."_

His voice was echoing in her mind preventing from doing anything that was against his directions. The way he was in her mind was driving her insane.

"Hey, what about me? I turned out quite fine don't you think?" her smile was radiant.

Stefan smiled for the first time in days and Caroline was so genuinely happy for that she kept talking,

"I mean sure I tragically ate a bunny for you, and when it comes to bambi and those cute eyes I mean come on now…"

Stefan grimaced at that while trying to keep himself from laughing.

"Ok, Caroline I am getting the message loud and clear," he said with his serious vampire look.

"Are you now?" she asked laughing giving him her sassiest look and Stefan laughed for the first time.

Elena's death was still a sore subject for all of them. They had all tried to keep her human and safe and in the end all was in vain. She ended up dead in a hospital bed and no one even knew who killed her. Their bets were of course on Klaus, but they had all decided that with Elena's transition and with their failed attempt to desiccate him it would be for the best to stay away from the Originals.

Everyone silently knew that sooner or later Klaus would come back with a vengeance, the only difference was that for Caroline that was already a reality. Everyone though, including her, was so frustrated with everything that had happened. Elena shouldn't have been a vampire. Not like this. But if, Caroline had to be honest with herself a part of her believed that from the moment her friend got mixed up with the Salvatore brothers it was only a matter of time before that happened.

Was that when it all came down to? Destiny? Fate? Having someone changing it radically and then it turning out different for you? Was this what was in store for her too? Klaus changing her destiny? Shaping it into something else? She really didn't want to even think about that. She was controlling her own future and she wasn't going to just give in to him. She sighed. This wasn't about her. It was about Elena. But the thing was that all these days while she was trying to help her friend control her bloodlust her own control was slipping away. She was giving her friend advice about control and while feeling like such a fraud.

_._

_._

_Klaus had just left, leaving her alone in unthinkable pain._

_She tried to move, but the pain was too much. It felt like the wolf in her dreams had been real and had torn her skin apart. She had fallen out of her bed almost passing out to the floor. She would have, but the blood lust was preventing her from doing even that. Her vision was distorted. Everything seemed to be far away. After she turned her vision was crystal clear and acute. Now it seemed like all were a blur. Like she was lost in a psychedelic trance._

_She tried to move and then she lost her ability to even form a coherent human thought. The predator was awakened and her instincts were now in the driver's seat._

_She flashed down to her basement with supernatural speed and force while hitting every wall and_ _piece of furniture on her in her way down. She couldn't think, she couldn't do anything else other than crave blood. He had compelled her to indulge that need and now all she could feel was exactly that._

_Her mother had put a chest freezer in the basement. That was where she kept her blood bags. She always maintained her control. She would go down there and just grab a bag. Many times she wouldn't even finish it at one go. Now she practically tore off the freezer's lid and grabbed the first bag and tore it with her teeth and viciously sucked the essence she craved so much._

_She lost track of time. All she knew was that the divine taste wasn't enough. She wanted more and she was dying for warm blood. She could still remember her teeth tearing the throat of her victim the first night she turned. This is what she needed right now. This wasn't enough, it would never be enough. But it was all she had right now._

_The thick liquid was flowing down her throat and she moaned at the way it was taking the pain away, and the way it was rejuvenating her. Her eyes were closed and pleasure was sweeping her away. She could feel her body healing even though there were never wounds to be healed. The more blood she_ _devoured the more she could feel her body craving more. Another bag and then another. She had to have more. She needed more._

_Slowly she could feel like time was coming back. Like she was a person and not an animal. Suddenly she opened her eyes and she whimpered throwing the empty bag away. What had she done? She couldn't remember how she got from her room to here. The last thing she remembered was Klaus compelling her. The last thing remembered was his voice telling her that the pain from her dream was back. Then nothing._

_Now she was sitting on the basement floor, her back was against the open freezer. Cold was coming out of it, but all she could feel was that she was full. For the first time she was full. No, it wasn't that. She felt like she could fly. Was she high on blood?_

_Everything seemed clearer now, brighter. She could even touch the molecule particles in the air. She looked around and saw that she was actually sitting in a lake of blood. Empty blood bags were all around her, all torn to shreds. She looked down at herself, at her hands. Blood was everywhere. The sticky liquid was on her skin, her hands, her nails. It was dripping from her mouth and her chin. Her hair was all wet and blood had soaked it. How much blood had she drunk? She smelled blood everywhere and she realized that her fangs were still exposed._

_She tried to change her face back, but she couldn't. She sobbed and her whole body shook. Why couldn't change her face back? All of the sudden she put her hands to her ears trying to block the noise. It was driving her crazy. She could practically hear everything. She could hear people breathing blocks away from her house, their heartbeats beating all together. She shot her head up. She could hear a car approaching. That unique noise that only the engine of her mother's car could produce. She could tell that it was far away, but it was coming closer._

_She was covered in blood, her face wasn't changing back and she needed more blood._

_Her mom couldn't see her like that. What if she hurt her?_

_She used her supernatural speed – and she was even faster now – and threw all the empty bags back in the freezer. She didn't have the time to clean the blood from the floor now. She sped run to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She was dripping blood all over. She tried to control her sobs and saw her face in the mirror. Her vampire features were not disappearing no matter how much she tried._

_She was a bloody mess. Literally._

_She took off her clothes shoving them into the basket with frantic moves. She could still hear the car approaching. She went into the tub and turned on the faucet. In moments hot water splashed all over her pale skin rinsing the blood away. The water at her feet was all red while steam filled the room. She took the wash cloth and started scrubbing her body. More blood was falling from her hair and her face, over her body and into the drain. She could hear the sound of the water running, of her own movements and of her mom's car._

_She was speeding the process along while she closed her eyes and let the hot water sooth her. She was replaying the night in her mind. The dream, the wolf, the pain. The lust._

_Klaus. He did this to her._

_Tears filled her eyes as she could still feel the heat he forced over her body. Her knees grew week and she felt herself getting aroused again. She used the wash cloth over her body rubbing it hard against her flesh and trying to relieve herself from that persistent burning feeling. She bit her lips and drew blood. She hit the tiles in despair and cracked them. She could feel his eyes compelling her into desire again. She screamed in frustration and kept trying to scrub away the memories, the blood, her need, the torture. She felt violated, dirty and empty._

_She heard her mom parking the car outside the house and turning the engine off. Her wet hair was clinging to her body, the soapy water starting to fall clearer on her curves now. She kept washing herself and praying for her face to change back._

_She could hear steps, her mom getting in the house. She could hear her blood pumping into her veins. She could hear her calling her and knocking on her bedroom door. Soon she was knocking at the bathroom door._

_Sunrise was coming._

_She covered her body with a fluffy towel and abruptly opened the door. The heartbeat of her mom's heart calling her. When she opened the door her face was back to normal again. When she opened the door Klaus's compulsion kicked in and she acted normal again. When she opened the door a new world was awaiting her. A world where she was compelled by Klaus, were Alaric was dead and Elena was a vampire. A world she didn't want to be in._

.

.

She hated those memories and all that they meant. She hated feeling so helpless. The constant need for blood tormenting her all week. She looked at Stefan again. She wanted so much to tell him what was happening to her, but she couldn't. So if there was no way that he could help her then she would have to focus on a way that she could help him.

"Stefan look Elena is still Elena, in her vampire version, yes, but it is still her and you guys always find your way back to each other no matter what. So, no negative thoughts, she needs us now more than ever,"

"Us and Damon," he said in a bitter tone.

Caroline bit her lip. Stefan was her friend and she wasn't Damon's groupie, but she couldn't look past the fact that Elena had feelings for Damon too.

"You might not like it Stefan but Damon is part of her life too. In his all snarky Damon way he cares for her and he can help her. In the end isn't that what we want for her right now? To help her anyway we can?"

"You really are a good friend Care, Elena is lucky to have you," he said and finally she could see that the old Stefan was back. Her friend was back.

"I am your friend too you know, this can't be easy for you either and I just …" she nervously swallowed and breathed; it was futile she couldn't say what she wanted.

Klaus had made sure of that.

"…I am here for you too that's all."She just said.

"I know and…look Caroline I know I haven't been here for you lately, but I am now. You can always count on me,"

Caroline gulped. She wanted so much to ask for his help. If there was anyone that could help her with Klaus that was Stefan. He knew Klaus. They had been friends and he was with him last summer. Stefan had been the only person to go up against Klaus and live to tell the story. She had to find a way to reach him, but instead of that Klaus's compulsion kicked in and she wore her brightest smile.

"I know Stefan but you don't have to worry about me. _I am fine_."

Stefan looked at her for a moment and was about to say something, but then his phone rang.

Caroline could hear Damon from the other side of the line asking Stefan to meet. It was about Elena.

When Stefan closed his phone, Caroline just smiled at him.

"It is ok, go, I will come to the boarding house to see Elena later."

Stefan nodded and flashed away leaving her alone in the woods with that nasty feeling that someone was watching her. She had to get out of there and fast.

Before she could to that she found herself pinned to the hard surface of the trunk of a tree. By Klaus!

Before she even knew what she was doing she shoved him with all her strength and sent him flying at the opposite tree. She heard him chuckling before rage consumed her and she attacked him again holding him this time against the tree. He wasn't fighting back, to the contrary he seemed to enjoy this way too much.

"This is all your fault," she snarled at him while pushing him against the tree, hearing the bark cracking while splinters and leafs flew all around them.

"Could you please be kind enough to elaborate sweetheart?" he asked smirking.

Now, that was the spirit!

If it was anyone else in her place, after what he had done to her, they would be cowering in front of him.

Not her. Never her.

She charged at him with everything she had. She could never win and they both knew it, but that didn't stop her from fighting. This is what he liked about her. She was so much more than just a pretty face.

Her face changed. It was the first time she couldn't control her anger and the green color of her eyes was now surrounded by the crimson color of blood.

"You killed her!" She accused him still pressing him over the tree looking like she was ready to rip him to shreds any minute now.

He on the either hand was so mesmerized by her that he couldn't control his actions either. His hand shot up without even realizing it and his fingertips gently touched the veins under her eyes.

She froze and her face changed back to surprise. She inhaled hard, unable to move.

He had done the same thing when he was compelling her, only now he wasn't. Now she could move. Why wasn't she moving?

She took a step back releasing him and trying to shake out that terrifying emotion.

"Never touch me again," she said with venom.

Before she could even blink she was pinned at another tree unable to move. She struggled under his hold, but he was too strong. His body was pressed over hers and he was holding her hands above her head in a steely hold.

Her breathing became rugged. Everything came rushing back. The pain and the fear. The way his eyes had dilated. The way she had lost control and herself in new whirls of sensations she hadn't even dreamt could exist. He must have done something in her mind because her body was now craving more of that. She was cursing herself when a familiar warm sensation started filling her womb.

He smiled like he could tell what was happening to her and she screamed to him to let her go.

"You want answers don't you love?" He tempted her even more and waited until she stood unmoving in his hands.

She told him never to touch her again, but she was his to touch whenever he wanted. She had to come to that realization sooner or later.

When he was watching her with Stefan he wanted to tear his former friend limb by limb. Caroline was smiling at him so effortlessly and he and his stupid brother were taking advantage of her. She shouldn't be the bait or the servant to their little group.

It was pathetic.

And yet she was smiling at Stefan. It made him to want to take all his rage out on the whole world. He would bet everything he had that if she had a choice she would go to the ripper for help. She would ask his protection. To help her keep him at bay. To keep him away from her.

"Let me go," her voice was cold like her eyes but he could feel her trembling. He smiled. It wouldn't be that difficult to control the vampire inside of her. It was already happening.

He took a step back, but he gave her a stern look. So she stood still against the tree.

"No, Caroline I didn't kill your friend," he said with a gentle tone.

She looked at him in a way that was telling him that she didn't believe him.

He shrugged.

"I may have ordered her death but I assure you that personally I didn't lay a hand on her," he said in a low voice and watched fascinated at all the emotions that appeared on her beautiful face. Rage, grief, disgust.

"You should be thanking me love," he said, taking a step closer to her again.

She remained silent watching him in a way that deep down was unnerving him.

In that moment she wasn't afraid of him. The loathing in her eyes was evident and was making her even more beautiful.

"Alaric is dead," he said with a condescending tone.

Alaric had been a danger for all of them and maybe he would have thought of another way to destroy him, but he wanted him dead by any cost necessary. Not only could he kill him and his siblings, but he had also tortured Caroline. He had to die. His only regret was that his death wasn't a slow one.

"You and your beloved friends are safe; all is good in the world again," he said while caressing her hair.

In the next moment Caroline's hand was on his cheek hitting him with all the force she could muster. And as a vampire she had enhanced strength. The impact was so strong that his head turned all the way to his right side.

"I am not like you!" She said every word separately and slowly.

He didn't say a word, but smiled. Amusement danced in his eyes.

"And that is _exactly_ why I like you," he told her sincerely. She wasn't like him nor like anyone he had ever met in his long life.

If it was any other that would have dared to do what she just did, he would have retaliated and heads would roll. But with her all he could do was admire her strength and spirit.

She tried to leave, but he blocked her way once more. He saw her clenching her jaw and balling her fists at her sides. She stubbornly looked at him defiantly.

He sighed. Eventually she would have to understand.

"Deep down you feel it too. Big tragedy, Elena turned into a vampire, her triangle with the Salvatore brothers just got eternal, such an unfortunate event." His words dripped irony as he rolled his eyes and then focused them directly to her, "but _her death_ insured _your_ survival," he told her acidly.

"I would never sacrifice my friends so I could live!" she yelled her frustration.

"But they have no problem putting your life on the line every time their lives are at stake don't they love?" he slowly told her with an understanding look.

She took a step back and shot him a death glare. If only looks could kill.

"Stop it!" she warned him.

He could tell that he had just hit a sensitive spot. Nightmares couldn't damage her as much as the truth that was hidden in those simple words.

He moved towards her again, but she shook her head.

"Don't," she said with a pleading tone.

"Why is it so hard to hear the truth? They sent you as bait to an Original. I could have had your head and they knew it. They just didn't care. If they did they would have protected you, where were they last week, Caroline?" He kept pushing her limits with his sweet voice.

She had been abducted by her teacher, tortured and then he had visited her that night and hurt her even more. If she were Elena she would have an army protecting her, but not Caroline. She was just collateral damage.

"Stop that! You know nothing about them, about me! Nothing!" she yelled at him, anger emanating from her body.

"I know that you are always the second choice. I know that your life is just expendable for them. This is what you want to be Caroline? A servant to Elena until your blind faith in them gets you killed?"

Caroline glared at him trying to keep her calm. He was getting to her. He was using her own insecurities against her and she knew it. That didn't stop her from hurting, though.

How many times had she stayed alone in her house, hugging herself, trying to convince herself she wasn't lonely, pretending that she wasn't the second choice for her father, her mother, and her friends? Pretending that she was as important to them as they were to her.

How many times she had drowned in her insecurities?

Now Klaus was bringing every unwanted memory back. Why was he doing this to her? Why did he have to bring all that pain back? This was not who she was anymore. She had her friends and Tyler. She even started to get along with her mom. She wasn't going to let him barge into her life and plant doubts in her head. He was Klaus; he was always manipulating, taking advantage of other people's fears.

She was stronger than his games. She just had to believe it. Those were empty words; he didn't know anything about her life. She just had to hold on to that. She took a deep breath. He wasn't the only one who could do damage using words. She could too. The only difference was that she wasn't going to use cheap tricks against him. Only the truth.

"What would you rather have me be? Your plaything?" she spat. She looked at him with pity and kept going. She knew he could kill her right there on the spot, but she didn't care. If she was going to go down she was doing it her way. "You have no idea what loyalty means. I am not expecting anything in return from them, they are my friends, I love them and I would do anything for them. But you wouldn't know any of that would you?"

She saw him flinch and she realized that all his attention was focused on her now.

"You want people to be with you, but you are not giving them a choice. Either you force them or compel them. Newsflash Klaus it doesn't work that way! This is not how you gain love and respect, only _**hate**_!" she said breathlessly, while she stood her ground.

For a moment she thought she saw his eyes changing. She thought she saw human emotion in them. She thought she saw pain. But she was wrong because at the next moment that twisted smile was on his face again. He took a step closer to her and she took a step back. Was he going to kill her now? She stopped taking steps back. He came impossibly closer and bent his head until his mouth almost touched her ear.

"Hate?" he whispered in a tone that sent shivers up her spine.

"Is that what you feel for me sweetheart?" his warm breath teased the tender skin of her neck.

He gently moved her to the tree again. The hard surface scrapping against her back.

He was looking at her, expecting an answer. She lifted her chin in a subtle challenge. Of course she hated him, now more than ever. With all her heart.

As her eyes gave him the confirmation he wanted he seemed to relax. He rested the palm of his hand on the bark of the tree just next to her head leaning towards her. His other hand rested on her hip. She should move, shove him away but she was immobilized. He seemed pleased.

"Hate, such a strong emotion don't you think?" he said softly while his fingers caressed her waist, slowly traveling north.

"The other side of love and all…" he continued, his voice so tender it was turning her heart over. His fingers feathered over the curve of her breast.

His hand finally rested at the base of her neck. She was breathing hard now.

"Hate requires passion, a connection, it means that you feel and you do feel for me don't you love?" he said smirking.

The confidence in his voice startled her more than anything else.

"In your dreams!" she said and pushed him away with all her strength once again, but this time he barely moved.

He laughed and voluntarily took some steps back.

"If you haven't noticed sweetheart I prefer yours" his voice seductive and sarcastic.

At that she stiffened and he enjoyed her reaction.

"As for what I would rather you would be," he locked his eyes with hers, "well I would rather you be _**mine**_."

The finality in his voice terrified her once again and reminded her that she was dealing with him alone in the woods. She started panicking as all the memories of the last time they were all alone came rushing back. She didn't stand a chance against him and he already held too much power. He had already compelled her once. She had to get out of there.

He saw her internal struggle and the way fear was finally settling in her eyes. Was it because of him or because of her emotions? He could tell that she felt something. For a moment she was hanging on his words. She had just proven to him that temptation could work on her. She was still fighting him though. Well would have to change that, wouldn't they?

"All good things come to those that wait and I have waited long enough for you sweetheart. It is time for you to come to me, willingly or not. Either way you will be…mine," he told her. This time being completely serious. Her running days were over.

At once her eyes became haunted, her forever-young face mirroring her fear and her disgust.

"You are despicable." She said shuddering with aversion.

"And you are magnificent," he said while his eyes scanned her whole body taking in every detail.

"Go to hell." She cursed him through her teeth, her voice echoing around the forest.

"Been there done that, for tonight I would rather go to... _you_." he said watching her lose all the color from her face.

His eyes darkened.

A part of him hated the vulnerability he was making her feel. Another part of him was rejoicing. She had awakened the predator in him again. She made him feel alive again. Filling all the voids in him. He was a hybrid after all. A part of him was wolf. The natural instincts of the predator were enhanced. And a wolf would do anything in order to claim his mate. A vampire would do anything in order to claim his bride.

And he was both. Part vampire, part werewolf. And all parts of him wanted her.

Even the last shreds of his humanity wanted her. He wanted to lose himself again in her dreams. To feel her thoughts, her light again.

It was time.

" _Tonight Caroline_ ," he said as he took her hand and gently brought it to his lips. He felt her shudder before she wrenched it away. Her eyes hazy for a moment as his compulsion lingered.

He left her alone in the woods enjoying the way her heart pummeled under her chest.

* * *

She couldn't help the way she felt. It was like her heart was giving out. After their encounter at the woods time was slipping away faster than it should. She was afraid and she wanted blood, but he had compelled her not to drink anything until he would come to her. Her need for blood and her fear was a deadly mixture. It made her jumpy and more neurotic than usual. Everything around her seemed ominous and scary and all she could think was what was going to happen to her tonight. All thoughts were horrific because she was certain that he could come up with a thousand ways to make her suffer.

She couldn't understand how someone could be such a cruel creature like him.

She had almost believed him in the past, when he told her that he _fancied_ her. It was a lie. Men like him didn't like or love or care about anything but themselves. No one would subject the person of their interest to such torment.

He wanted to weaken her. It wasn't that hard for her to understand what he wanted from her. He wanted to break her and be the one to pick her pieces again. To shape her into what he wanted her to be. He didn't want her. He wanted what he thought she would be under his so-called affections. The result unfortunately was the same. He was relentless and she didn't stand a chance against an one thousand years old Original.

She tried to resist to his compulsion, but it was no use. She could feel the pull every time she was trying to think how to avoid the night that was coming. She couldn't go through that again and yet it seemed that she would. He had compelled her not to try to stop what was happening and she couldn't think of any loopholes to his commands.

She went to Elena, she went to the Grill. She spent time with Bonnie and she just wondered around town. It was useless, her mind was betraying her. Everyone could see the cheery bubbly Caroline. Nothing else. What she could see though was a whole other story.

She felt scared and dirty. It was like part of her enjoyed this game they had between them. Part of her wanted to feel the pain and the thrill. It was exhilarating. Klaus was representing danger now and a part of her wanted to experience that.

Ever since she changed into a vampire she was trying to ignore that newfound side of hers. There was always a war going on between her mind and her instincts. And it only took Klaus one night to have them grew even further apart. Everything was heightened after she became a vampire and her predatory nature was always a part of her. Now fear was becoming a terrifying monster and her need to explore the darkness inside her was turning into a thought that kept taunting her.

So she was letting herself be consumed by positive emotions. Feelings that would keep her sane. Feelings that would keep her grounded. Her mother and her friends were her safe havens.

Tyler was a part of those. They had been through so many things together and in every turn he was the person that she wanted to be with. She didn't know if it was forever, but right now it didn't matter. She loved him now, today, and it was more than enough. He made her feel normal. A girl in love with her boyfriend.

Klaus had to mess that up too. One week now and she had kept herself away from Tyler. She kept dodging his phone calls and his messages. She kept her distance.

She was always feeling like she was watched and after she personally got the first taste of what Klaus could do she feared of what he could do to Tyler. Especially now that Tyler had stood against him and broke the sire bond. How many more excuses could she use to keep Tyler away, though? She didn't want to lose him, but she didn't want him to be caught in the middle of all this either.

She knew first hand that Klaus could easily dispose anyone he considered an obstacle and in his psychotic mind she was guessing that Tyler was not on his good list. She wanted to scream in frustration. Since when had she given Klaus a free pass to control her life and her choices? Lost in her thoughts she didn't even understand how her own body had been moving without her realizing it, but now she was a few blocks away from her house. She looked at the sky. The sun had already set a few hours ago.

She was creeped out by the thought that her body was subconsciously following Klaus's commands.

Obviously she was heading back home to get herself to bed. She cringed. She tried to turn around and go the opposite direction, but it was useless. She huffed and kept dragging her feet. She was almost there when she stopped. Outside her door Tyler was waiting for her. She held her breath. She couldn't do this now.

She tried to calm herself and took a deep breath. She even managed to smile.

Once she got to her porch Tyler hugged her and she held him tight. She didn't want to let go of him. She felt so warm and safe in his hands. Tyler was the first one to break their connection and when he looked at her he had a serious expression on his face.

"Are you ok, Care?" he asked her, not trying to hide his concern.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked him, feigning nonchalance.

"I don't know, probably because you have been avoiding me for a week now?" he seemed angry now.

She looked at him and internally wished with all her heart that Klaus's spell could be broken just for a moment, but that wasn't happening. Tyler had managed to break his sire bond for her, why couldn't she do the same with Klaus's compulsion?

For the first time she felt guilt. When Tyler was sired she was so judgmental with him. She hadn't realize how hard it was to be bound to someone like that. Damon had compelled her in the past, but this was different. Klaus had left her thoughts untouched. He wanted her to fight and to feel despair every time she was realizing it was useless. His compulsion was unbreakable.

"I…", she stammered for a moment, she had to try. Any signal would be enough.

"Caroline what is going on?" his concern was back now. His warm eyes were scanning hers.

"Hey you can tell me anything what is happening?" he rubbed her arms.

This was it. If she could just find a way…

But she instantly froze. Even if she could what could Tyler do? Even if there was the slight chance that she could break the compulsion it wouldn't change the fact that Klaus was coming tonight and if she wasn't there he would retaliate.

Tyler wouldn't be able to protect her. She would just put him in danger. She needed time to think. Time to find a way out of it and that meant that for now she would have to deal with Klaus alone. She let her compelled mind take over her completely.

She took a step back and looked at Tyler sighing.

"I am so sorry, Tyler. I just, I don't know, with everything that is going on with Elena, I am feeling a little disconnected," she said, with her most earnest, sad smile.

Tyler looked at her for a moment and then he seemed to believe her.

"There was nothing we could do, Care," he said.

"I know, it's just that everything happened so fast, I didn't want to…"

"To ignore me?"

"I am sorry, I just needed time," she said biting her lip.

"Time from what Caroline? _Us?_ " he asked her incredulously.

She looked at him feeling sick to her stomach. This couldn't be happening. Klaus be damned she couldn't lose Tyler.

"NO! Tyler no! I don't know ok? I just wanted some time to clear my thoughts and help Elena adjust."

"And you couldn't do that with me?"

"It's not like that, I…I am sorry, I didn't mean to do that,"

Tyler went closer to her and caressed her hair.

"Don't shut me out baby. I love you, you know that."

"I know," she said with a sad smile, "I love you too," her smile got brighter even though even though her eyes were filled with tears.

Tyler took her in his arms and kissed her.

She returned his kiss with all her love. For a few minutes nothing else mattered. She was safe. She forgot that she shouldn't be doing that. That Klaus probably had people monitoring her every move and kissing Tyler like that wasn't the smart thing to do. She would just enrage him even more.

The only thing was that right now she didn't care. She wrapped her hands around her boyfriend's neck and ignored the memory of the lust she had felt in Klaus's hands under his compulsion. All of this was too much for her to handle. Tyler was the man she loved. The man she wanted. She had to hold on to that and bury any twisted feeling that were crawling into her heart. She held on tighter to Tyler, but then he moved his lips and kissed her jaw, then her neck until he moved his lips to her ear.

"I have missed you Caroline, come to my place tonight," he said in a low, sexy voice.

She shut her eyes, Klaus's voice being the only thing that echoed in her ears.

_**Tonight Caroline…Tonight…** _

She took a step back. She couldn't do this.

She stood breathlessly in front of Tyler and she could feel her whole body retaliating. Time was approaching.

"Tyler I am …tired. I just want to go to bed…" she stuttered looking everywhere but him.

She could sense that his frustration was taking over him.

"Is there something you are not telling me Caroline?" he asked her confused and angry.

She looked at him and breathed heavily licking her swollen lips.

"I told you I am…"

"Tired?" he interrupted her, "yeah I got that!" he said, his anger flaring.

He shook his head and laughed humorlessly. It was obvious that he didn't understand her behavior and that she was hurting him. How could it be that only a few days ago everything was so good between them and now things were a disaster?

She was so happy when he had returned to her a few weeks ago all sire free. She knew that it was hell for him to break all his bones again and again so that he could get rid of his supernatural bond to Klaus. But he did it, for her. And now she was hurting him.

"You know what, get your rest, Caroline, don't mind me," he said looking disappointed.

He turned on his heels ready to go.

'Tyler, please…" she pled with a shaky voice.

He stood and then turned around and saw how distraught she was. He breathed in and shook his head.

"I'll call you tomorrow," he told her, "all you have to do is pick up," he said and left.

She stood there until he got in his car and drove away.

" _I am sorry_ ," she whispered. Her eyes hazy from the tears that formed in them.

She leaned on her door and kicked her foot on the wooden surface frustrated. She pressed her lips together. All she wanted to do was go after Tyler. Be with him.

Instead of that she went into her house and without turning the lights on she went with heavy steps to her room. The environment seemed so hostile to her now.

She was feeling so helpless and lost. She closed her eyes, her heart hurting. Everything was wrong. This was definitely a nightmare and she hadn't even fallen asleep yet. All she could feel now was her body moving against its will. His words were like smoke all around her.

_"No matter what, at midnight you will be back at your place. You will come to your room, make your self-comfortable and you will lie at your bed waiting for me. When the clock strikes midnight you will fall into a deep sleep."_

She saw the clock at her nightstand. It was almost time. She moved like she was in a trance. She took her clothes off and wore her most comfortable nightclothes. She took her make-up off and lay down on her bed, resting her head against her pillows. She took deep breaths and tried to push the terror away in vain. She stopped fidgeting only when she felt that her body was in a completely comfortable position. And now she was just waiting for him to come to her. Shudders run through her body.

She felt like she was on an alter and she was going to be sacrificed soon. And it was probably true. There was no gentleness in him and she couldn't escape him. She didn't even want to imagine what he had in store for her tonight. What she would suffer at his hands again. Her heart was beating like crazy. She felt like it was going to explode from her chest. This wait was killing her. She turned her head and focused on the clock. The shiny digits were moving along. She couldn't stop them. In 5 minutes she would be asleep.

She stared at the ceiling. She could already feel her eyelids getting heavy against her will. She knew it was pointless, but she kept trying to stay awake.

" _When the clock strikes midnight you will fall into a deep sleep."_

The minutes turned to seconds and in every slow second she was losing herself in darkness. She could feel her limbs turning heavy and her eyes sleepily closing. Morpheus was claiming her and she couldn't resist his seduction. Her last thought was that if she couldn't get out of this then she would sure as hell put up a fight.

Darkness consumed her.

_The clock struck midnight._


	5. When Nightmares Come to Life : Part One _ The Monster Within

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Many thanks to my beta Anastasia Dreams

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I had a dream, which was not all a dream.

Darkness – Lord Byron

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_**Previously…** _

" _When the clock strikes midnight you will fall into a deep sleep…"_

_And then the clock struck midnight…_

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_**Chapter 5 :** _ _**When Nightmares Come to Life** _

_**Part One _ The Monster Within** _

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_We have fallen far from grace and the devil made us sin. Our virtue washed away in a sea of blood. And yet here we stand bare and broken with an unspoken hope that we hold as our shield. It wasn't our will; it was the serpent that deceived us. It happened in a dream where our real selves were covered under the cloak of seduction. Tempted into a dance of murder and sin._

_But it wasn't really us. It couldn't be._

_For if it was then the devil would be part of our soul. And you can hide from everyone but yourself._

_Would you then dare to whisper again that the devil made you sin?_

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**_Some hours earlier…_ **

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The girl was shivering uncontrollably into the darkness. Her aching body was curled and twisted on the dirty floor and the minutes were passing slowly prolonging her torment. She was freezing. Her shoes were missing. She didn't have her jacket anymore. The dark room was dusty and cold and she was only wearing the thin dress she always wore when she had dance class.

The only thing was that tonight she never made it at her class. She remembered walking down the street when someone or _something_ pulled her in a dark alley. She tried to scream but somehow a voice in her head told her to stay silent. Golden eyes gleamed in the shadows and sharp long teeth shone in the darkness. She felt pain spreading all over her body, but she couldn't scream. She couldn't even talk and the next thing she remembered was waking up on the floor of this room. A room with no windows. A room with nothing in it except her.

No light, no warmth, no exit. Oxygen mixed with dust. And the smell of blood. Her blood.

She screamed and yelled. She pleaded for someone to help her but no one came.

_Only him._

It wasn't possible. This couldn't be happening. That man was insane. Only he wasn't a man at all. _He was a beast_. His eyes shone gold in the dark as his teeth ripped her neck once again.

She could still hear him drinking her blood and she felt sick. What was he? This couldn't be real. This was a nightmare, but the pain made her sharply aware she was awake.

When he first came in she couldn't see him in the darkness of this room, but she scooted away to the edge of the wall crying and begging for him to let her go. He didn't have any mercy when he gripped her hair and his teeth carved her skin yet again ignoring her pleading, her whimpers and the sounds of pain that escaped her lips.

This time she screamed.

When he let her go she had fallen on the floor again. Her eyes closed as the world faded. Hours passed so slowly afterwards.

A warm lake of blood had formed around her. The liquid was sticky on her skin.

Her throat was burning her. She couldn't feel her body anymore. She needed water and something to take the pain and the cold away. She threw up and sweat covered her shivering body.

She was dying. She could feel it.

Her cheeks were wet and her dark hair matted. Blood was oozing from the open puncture wounds on her neck. She could barely move. She could barely speak anymore and with her last whispers she kept praying and asking for her mom. She was never going to see her again was she?

Why was this happening to her? What did that man want from her?

When he came in again she finally saw his face. He looked like an angel. An angel of death. He had dark blond hair and blue piercing eyes. His hand caressed her ebony hair like he was trying to comfort her. His fingertips gently touched the bleeding wounds on her tender neck causing her to wince and to cry even more and then he brought his bloody fingers tohis lips licking her blood.

With the last strength that was left inside her and with a fading voice she asked him why.

He smiled and the only thing he told her with his accented voice was that tonight her fate was going to be decided upon a dream.

He left her there and all she could think was that she was going to die all alone.

She kept praying until no voice could come out of her lips.

* * *

_Caroline blinked once, twice and then she tried to concentrate. For a moment her vision was obscured, but then everything came to life._

_She was standing in the middle of a great hall. She looked down at herself and realized that she was wearing a long silk, scarlet gown. The material was the softest thing she had ever touched and it tightly hugged her body like an element that could slip through her fingers; like water and air. Absentmindedly, she touched her hair and realized that once again it was perfectly curled. She turned in a circle and her full skirt whirled around her. It felt like she was floating in a whirl of feathers._

_Her eyes caught her reflection on the shiny surface of a bronze shield that was hanging in between heavy, deep red, velvet curtains on the stony wall. She couldn't see herself clearly, but her lips were shining in crimson and her whole vision was like a cloud of blood._

_There was an aura that surrounded her. It screamed danger._

_She tried to concentrate, but all she could feel was that she wasn't alone. Like there was something stalking and lurking in the dark. A dark entity, a mirage. It was ice cold and scorching hot. It was hugging her skin and following her shadow. She could swear that all around her elusive shapes and forms were dancing in the dark. She wasn't afraid though. It was like a seductive motion was encompassing her and was making her feel like she belonged in the shadows herself too. It was a calling to join the darkness, to let go._

_A feeling of belonging crept into her heart. She wanted to stay here. She wanted to be part of the shadows. Secretive and writhing. To change her form and dance around those stone floors. It was like a vague gravity, yet absolute._

_In all that uncertainty, a voice in her mind started whispering to her to move, to dance, to explore this place. Somehow, from somewhere afar the sound of wailing filled the halls._

_She looked around and she gulped. Where was she? This was a really long corridor that seemed like it was taken out of an illusion. Long dark shadows were rising everywhere. The only dim light was coming from fading candlelight._

_She shook her head. She felt confused and disoriented, but she didn't dare linger in this spot any longer. Somehow she felt the urgent need to start moving. She couldn't resist the voice in her head any longer. She had to move and explore._

_She began to walk slowly. With every slow step she observed her surroundings. Her high heels created a soft, yet loud, clatter over the floor stones. The sound echoed everywhere and followed her every step, causing her heart to beat faster. The stone segments of the floor formed unusual intricate patterns. The large blocks felt impossibly smooth beneath her feet._

_She kept observing feeling wonder at what she was seeing. This place was massive. It seemed never ending. More like a maze._

_Thick walls made of stone and marble. Marble columns and artwork. Winded creatures made of alabaster. High ceilings with impressive domes and arches._

_Heavy sculptures decorated the enormous halls and corridors on her left and her right. Smaller ones, more delicate, also decorated part of the walls. Carved angels and demons. Katanas and portraits hung on the walls._

_Dark paintings and heavy curtains. All dark and gloomy._

_She stood for a minute to observe the paintings._

_Somehow it was what called her more. Abstract art and darkness loomed in the forms of the paint. Every stroke of the color and every shape that was formed, either was a mythical creature, a landscape, a horse or a woman that gave her a sense of loneliness. A message of desolation. Like someone was crying, calling to get out from those paintings to find something long gone. She felt her heart ache. It was an unsettling emotion because aside from loneliness she could also feel something sinister vibrating from those paintings. Somehow that emotion of seductive danger and of solitariness felt familiar._

_She was on the verge of remembering what that meant and most importantly who was causing those feeling to come to life in her heart, but somehow it was all tangled in her mind. She couldn't place names or faces. She could only feel._

_But the need to explore was getting more urgent. It felt like the walls would enclose all around her if she didn't move forward._

_The only problem was that she didn't know where to go. She had no direction._

_As she made some more uncertain steps the sound of wailing ceased. Everything turned deadly silent for a moment. It was comforting and yet that serene aura that engulfed everything, including her, was creating an ominous atmosphere._

_And then a new sound filled her ears. It was a soft humming. For some reason that sound stuck in her mind more than anything else. It was messing with her senses. All her hidden instincts came to life. She wanted to follow that soft voice that hummed that unknown lullaby._

_And then she wanted to hunt that voice down. To let her inhibitions free. She wanted to feed on that voice or more precisely the owner of that voice. To feel blood flooding inside her mouth_ _until that voice was silent._

_She walked towards the sound and she felt her eyes turning, black veins forming. Her vision darkening and becoming clearer._

_Through the obscurity of her sudden bloodlust she moved forward, turning and passing through some completely dark corridors until she could see a faint light in the darkness. She followed it and she saw an intricately carved door. It was made from dark wood, large and heavy, and it was slightly cracked open. She could clearly hear now that the humming was coming from behind that door._

_The need to see what was behind that door was becoming overwhelming. She stood behind that door and paused. Her fingers gently touched the lines of the carved wood and with a deep breath she gave it a push and entered with caution._

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_For a moment her eyesight got distorted. All shapes and colors danced around her eyes manically and her gaze failed to perceive anything other than the thick veil of darkness and light that surrounded her. All she could hear was humming and all she could feel was her need for blood._

_Then her cloudy vision started to become clearer._ _It was like her eyes were adjusting after coming out of water._

_It was the sound of the door abruptly closing behind her with a thud that took away the shadows and with that her confusion._ _She was trapped. The humming stopped. Complete silence._

_She shook her head and took a step back. She looked behind her only to see that there was no door anymore._ _All her defense mechanisms kicked in and she realized that her eyes were still vampiric._

_But most importantly she realized that she was in the same room with…Klaus._

_Her eyes changed back to normal and for a moment she felt lost. Then it all came rushing back._

_His compulsion. His voice still lingered._

" _When the clock strikes midnight you will fall into a deep sleep…"_

_He entered her mind again. This was one of his dreams again. It was at that moment of clarity that she could vaguely feel her temples aching._

_She wanted to force herself to wake up, but it seemed impossible. Then the pain vanished completely. She turned and saw him inspecting her. His eyes full of mirth as if he knew what she was trying to do. His look was clearly telling her that it was useless to try. It would be impossible to wake up unless he allowed her to._

' _This is why he compelled me not to drink any blood while waiting for him at midnight' she thought. He wanted her weakened so she wouldn't have any chance to fight back. Although the thought did seem quite absurd since he was an Original and she had been a vampire for less than a year now._

_She saw him smiling knowingly now, like he was reading her thoughts. Wait! Was he reading her thoughts? Oh God…_

_And then the smile became bigger and turned into a smirk._

_Rage filled her mind as she saw him sitting comfortably in a large chair that seemed more like a wooden throne. He seemed like a King_. _His eyes were observing her with interest and lust, and that insufferable smirk was still etched on his lips._

_She tried to calm her beating heart and took a moment to look around. Anywhere but him._

_This room was large and less ornate, but felt more warm and comfortable than the halls she had walked in moments before._

_Candelabras alight with candles were everywhere turning the darkness into faded light. More paintings and a bookcase. The interior was a fine example of elegance. Artwork, books and scrolls, ancient parchments on beautiful tables, old furniture, plush rugs._

_There were large windows that mirrored absolute darkness beyond their glassy surface. She tried to focus and see what was outside, but there was nothing. Nothing existed outside that room and that scared her._

_Instinctively she took a deep breath. The smell of roses and wine was filling the air. But she could also smell the faint tempting scent of…blood._

_She tried to control herself and to focus so she wouldn't change into a vampire once more._

_She could feel his eyes following her every movement. Silently observing. He was in her mind and he definitely could not be ignored._

_She turned her gaze on him once more._

_It was a contradiction. This room felt like it was made out of another era and yet he was dressed in normal clothes. Modern formal clothes. All black. Black elegant suit, black shirt. All black and fashionable. And yet everything around them was like it came out of a different century._

_For a moment their gazes locked. She couldn't look away. He was sitting in front of a fireplace and the roaring flames were casting their golden light all around him. Shadows danced on his form and face. He always seemed dangerous to her but now, somehow, he also seemed like he was in his element and that made him even more threatening._

_She literally had entered the devil's lair._

_He raised an eyebrow. Mirth danced in his eyes and then she heard his voice in her mind even though he wasn't speaking._

" _Hardly the devil, sweetheart, but I will take that as a compliment…"_

_He was clearly telling her that he knew all he thoughts and that terrified her._

" _You can read my mind?" she asked him and she hated that her voice trembled._

_He smiled and stood up with an elegant swift movement. Everything about him screamed that his wasn't human. The way he looked and moved, here and in the real world, was a clear indication that he belonged to the supernatural._

_As he made a step towards her she took a step back. He sighed with disappointment and stopped at his spot but looked at her pointedly._

_There was his voice in her mind again._

" _I wouldn't exactly say read…but I am in your mind after all…"_

_His voice was causing her to shiver. It was like a whisper in her head. Suggestive and intimate. So intimate that it felt like a caress. A deliberate seduction._

" _Stop that!" she yelled at him, frustrated and he smiled bowing slightly in salute as if he was telling her that her wish was his command._

_A genuine smile formed on his lips. It was meant to soothe her; instead it made her even more restless._

' _Everything he does is calculated' she thought._

" _Sweetheart, you wound me" he told her as he mockingly placed his hand over his chest. His voice finally breaking the silence. His words an answer to her thoughts._

" _Yeah, I am sure," she said without being able to control her sarcasm._

_He took some steps closer to her, but this time she didn't move. She was sick and tired of him trying to intimidate her. All these twisted games were making her furious. The creepy castle. This room. The scary sounds and his games had one purpose and one alone. To make her feel weak. To give him control._

_He moved closer until he was invading her personal space. He then tucked a stray lock of golden hair behind her ear. Oh so very gently._

" _Forgive the theatrics, love," he whispered. His breath lingering on her skin._

_Images of the corridors she was walking in moments before flashed before her eyes._

" _But an enticing prologue always makes a difference," he said with a husky voice._

_The room was warm and yet she found herself shivering again._

_His gaze was intense as his hands went up and down her arms. His touch was making her warm again. It was like lightening was licking her skin, entering her veins and then burning her from the inside out. All from a simple touch._

' _No!' she thought. 'This is him causing this. Everything in here is controlled by him. This isn't real'. She had to keep reminding herself that. She shoved him away as her eyes shone with an angry fire that was about to consume every part of her logic._

" _Even if I didn't know what you were thinking," he said as his eyes glittered with danger "I must say that your face is so transparent, Caroline. I can see all your intentions clearly," he paused for a moment and his tone implied that he was not only sensing her anger but also her desire. "So why don't you let yourself free and who knows? It might actually be fun…" he suggested taking her hand in his and bringing it to his mouth for a gentle kiss._

_She stilled against him and then she let her hand fall limp against her side. Her heart pounding in despair._

" _You find all these amusing don't you?" she said, her voice fading. She wanted to wake up. She just wanted this to be over._

_His demeanor changed. His eyes shone with anger and then with compassion._

_She still could not comprehend how anyone could feel such opposite emotions all at the same time. He could smile and he could make her feel strangely safe and then in the next moment make her feel as if he wished to tear her heart out, hurting her like no other._

_She had been abused before, but all this was out of the realm of her logic. She wanted to be strong. She really did. But how could she go against an Original? She was trapped and she was all alone…correction, not alone, she was with him and that was far worse._

_Her eyes sparkled with tears and all she could think was that he knew every thought she was thinking. He knew her fear and all that she wanted to keep hidden. It was like she was completely bare before him. Her doubts, her fears, her memories. He had invaded her every hidden secret thought. He knew…_

" _I do know," he said in a gentle voice that made her heart turn over. She shook her head refusing to look at him._

_He took her face into her hands and she had no other choice than to look at him._

_The tenderness and the passion she saw in those blue eyes scared her even more. But what really terrified her were the words that escaped his mouth._

" _This is not a game, Caroline," his thumbs caressed her cheekbones as his voice tempted her into a false security._

" _I know you are scared and you have no idea how deeply sorry I am for being the one to cause you such distress, but this has to be done."_

_His fingertips were now touching the edge of her lips. His gaze was locked with hers. Fierce and intense. His mind was in hers; she was feeling him there, inside of her._

" _Why are you doing this?" her voice betrayed her as did the tear that fell down her blushing cheek. She was struggling between fear and temptation. And it seemed like she was losing in both battles._

_Unintentionally her body leaned closer to him. His soft touch was making her feel safe even if she knew that she wasn't._

_He abruptly took his hands away as if her tear burned him and then stepped away from her. His internal struggle was evident and that made her feel even uneasier. While her whole body seemed to be missing his touch._

" _Why you ask," he moved and stood in front of the fireplace his eyes fixed on the flames._

" _Don't you know the answer to that sweetheart?" he asked her without taking his eyes away from the flames._

_She swallowed the lump in her throat._

" _Punishment, revenge," her voice trembled as she pronounced those words that took on a whole other meaning now that they were targeted against her, by him._

_A slow, melancholy smile formed on his lips but it didn't touch his eyes. He turned around to face her. Her fear was intoxicating and a rush of excitement ran through his veins, but this time it wasn't enough. He couldn't hide behind his impulsiveness in order to make what he was really feeling go away._

_She was partially right. A part of him wanted to punish her for everything that had happened. For every lie and for every fake promising gaze she had casted upon him. And he did want revenge. His whole soul was craving it._

_But it wasn't because she managed to hurt him. It wasn't because he saw her celebrating his demise. It was because she was making him feel again. She made his heart ache again only to break it. Because she was making him so vulnerable and she was holding power over him. A baby vampire had power over him!_

_He wanted to hurt her, yes. Because she made him feel all those human emotions he had banished from his existence a thousand years ago. He didn't care for anyone and yet she had managed to make him care for her._

_He stood tall and straight and tried to keep everything he was feeling at bay. She looked so lovely that it almost made him to want to put an end to all of this. Almost._

" _That is an easy answer to a complex situation and I am sure you can do better than that love," he told her,_ _making his face blank and completely expressionless._

_The coldness in his voice made her jerk away. Her eyes gleamed and he could feel all her emotions. All her anger that was turning into rage. But what he couldn't understand was how she couldn't feel hate. Even like this, her emotions were raw and unrefined. When they talked earlier that day in the forest she had claimed to hate him, but she didn't. He knew all about hate and Caroline's emotions didn't include it. It was like she didn't even know what it was._

_He could feel the hurricane inside her, powerful enough to sweep everything in its sway and yet there was no hate there. That made him want her even more. He needed her light even more._

" _What the hell is it that you want from me?" she asked as her eyes accused him._

_Some time ago the answer would have been simple. He was infatuated by her. He wanted her in his bed and in his life until they were content and then, if she remained loyal to him, they would go their separate ways. Their time together would probably last for several decades, but in the end that would be all. After that they could meet again once or twice along the centuries. He would have a fond memory of her and he would use her warmth and her body whenever he needed. Like any other that preceded her, her body would be at his disposal whenever he asked her. She would please him, entertain him and he would revel in her light whenever he would need a break from his grim reality._

_Somehow all that had changed. He couldn't exactly tell when or how exactly that had happened, but it had. Now he didn't want anything from her. He simply wanted her. All of her. Time didn't matter anymore. He wouldn't let her go. This was getting out of hand and after a thousand years he knew that when you can't fight something then you give in to it. And he was giving in to her. For now, for tomorrow, for a century. For an eternity._

_He was being selfish, he knew that much. But that was who he was. And he always took what he wanted and he wanted her. Her smile, her light, her passion._

_It saddened him that her stubbornness was in the way. He had to bend her to his will and he wished things could have been another way. But there was no other way anymore._

_She was thinking with terror that he was in her head and that meant that he knew her thoughts and her feelings._

_He did indeed know. He wasn't just entering her dreams. He was taking glimpses of her mind and soul. He could hear and feel her thoughts, her emotions, and her fears. It had become and addiction. And if he wanted her once before now that he had tasted who Caroline Forbes really was, if possible, he wanted her a thousand times more._

_But he also knew something else too. He knew that she was not as weak as she thought she was._

_No, she is much more than the weak pawn she considers herself to be._

_She is strong, defiant, a fighter. And even though he admired and was drawn to all those traits right now they were posing an obstacle that he had to overcome, no matter the cost._

_She was not giving in and she was determined not to let him be with her in any way that would mean anything or be real for both of them_. _She was set in her ways and considered him her enemy._

_He could also feel that he tempted her and that was a start. But it was not enough._

_He knew that here her temptation and desire for him would reach a breaking point, but in the real world it wasn't so simple. The dream world heightened everything and he could take advantage of that, but in reality Caroline's defenses were very strong._

_So it would have to be the hard way for them…_

_Deep down he vowed to make it up to her in time. He would give her the whole world. Anything she would ask of him would be hers. When she would be his he would make her forget all the pain and the fear she was feeling right now. But for now it was a necessity. The fact was that he knew in the end that this wasn't just about revenge. It was about the first real thing he had wanted in centuries and that made his conviction even more unrelenting._

_So he could give her some honesty. At least up to a point._

_She was still staring up to him. Demanding an answer as her heart was pounding in her chest._

_He strode with confidence to her and stood in front of her. The light in the room was limited and yet it was creating an interesting image. It was like she was bathed in light and he was covered in darkness. A few shadows sat upon her red clad form and a few threads of light on some angles of his face. An angel and a demon. And maybe that was what she was for him. The angel to his demon._

_His cerulean gaze was locked with hers and she felt like falling forward. His eyes had a formidable shine and she felt like she was going to be forever trapped in those dark depths of his blue eyes._

_She kind of regretted asking him what he wanted from her because now she was terrified of what his answer would be. Revenge and punishment she could deal with. Anything else she couldn't. She knew that he had a thing for her. But she was praying his feelings were insignificant in his mind. Because if they weren't that would mean that she was trapped with one of the most unforgivable, psychotic, obsessive men that had walked the earth. And she didn't know how she could go up against someone like him._

_His voice startled her, but she didn't move. His face was close to her. The distance between them was limited and the air was humming with an energy that was making her heart beat faster and turning time to stand still._

" _We have been playing this game for some time now," he said and his eyes gleamed ominously._

_A sense of dread was finding its way into her heart. Creeping into her soul and casting dark shadows inside her._

" _Every time I reach for you, sweet Caroline, you pull away," he said softly and she took a deep breath._

_Only this time she didn't pull away. She was enchanted by his eyes and she was hanging on his every word. His voice was seducing her like a hypnotic spell._

' _This must be how temptation must feel like' she thought. It was like a magic thread was wrapping around her. A rush of heat, like liquid fire, reached her limbs._

" _I want to seduce you," he continued and he took the one small step that brought him impossible closer to her. His hand reached out and his finger traced the line of her jaw. She closed her eyes and shivered. Such a simple gesture and she felt like he was marking her._

" _And you…" he paused, but his caress lingered for a moment before gliding away._

" _You want to manipulate me and so on…"_

_Those words snapped her out of his spell. She took a sharp breath and she would have taken a step back, but his hands found their way into her waist and forced her to stay in her place._

" _The thing, sweetheart, is that I am probably getting too old for these kind of games while you are too young to be playing them with me."_

_His voice was incredibly gentle and yet the threat there was more than clear and reminded her of the danger she was in. The patience he had shown her all this time had vanished. She desperately wanted to put an end to all of this, but the way he was looking at her and the way he was holding her was making her realize that this wasn't going to happen any time soon, if ever. She could feel his aggression and possessiveness coming at her in waves and she shouldn't hope for any compassion from him anymore. If anything she would have to beg for him to have mercy, but she would rather die first. He was the villain of this story. She would be damned if she would let him manipulate the truth and make her bend to his will._

" _You said that this is not a game," she said in a steely tone._

" _Not any more it isn't," he admitted and he bent his head towards her until their foreheads touched. His eyes never leaving hers._

" _You were right Caroline, revenge and punishment are part of this equation."_

_She had to try to concentrate. But it was so hard with him watching her so intently._

" _The right question, Sweetheart, would be why would I want to punish you? What is it that you have really done?" he asked her and she felt like she was participating in a very dangerous game of chess. A wrong move from her and she would lose because he was already many moves ahead._

_The answer should be obvious, but it wasn't._

" _I…" her murmur was barely audible._

_She tried to form a sentence, but it felt like it was impossible. All she wanted was to close her eyes and nestle in his arms. Her heart was beating loud even beneath her own ears._

_His fingers were still pressed on the skin of her waist and his thumbs were caressing her over the silk material of her dress. Small circular patterns that were making her body tremble and shiver._

" _Yes?" he pressed tenderly._

_She swallowed harder and breathed deeply. His scent filling her nostrils._

" _You feel that I betrayed you," she whispered unsure._

_If this was supposed to be a battle of wills she was losing. She was already lost._

" _You feel that you haven't?" he questioned her as his hands moved higher and pressed against her upper waist._

_She closed her eyes. She had to concentrate. He was playing with her. This wasn't real. This was him playing with her mind._

_She opened her eyes and her hands found his. She held his wrists and moved them away from her body and this time he let her._

_She took a step back and tried to control her erratic breathing._

" _I was protecting the people I love," she declared and this reminded her how she ended up in this situation to begin with._

_Klaus was never the victim. He claimed that she was the one that kept manipulating him and maybe it was partially true, but she was doing it to protect all those that she cared about. He had invaded their lives and destroyed everything in his wake._

_He had killed, tortured and destroyed everyone that was in the way of his conquer the world plan. He had been the greatest evil they had ever encountered and some gentle words from him wouldn't change who he really was._

_He was evil and a monster and if he really cared he wouldn't treat her the way he was right now. He wouldn't compel her, he wouldn't rape her dreams and thoughts and he wouldn't hurt her or anyone that she cared for._

_All those thoughts gave her power and she could tell that it was the same thoughts that were angering him because since he was in her mind he could feel and hear everything that she was thinking._

_Her eyes changed. She wouldn't be just an inadequate, little, defenseless girl against him. If he wanted to hurt her so be it. He would have to give it his best shot because in the end she knew that she was right and justified and he was wrong. He would always be wrong._

" _I will always protect the people I love," she said. Her tone steady and hard as ice._

_He tilted his head and closed his fists, but then he smirked._

_She was too young, too naïve. She could so easily paint him with the colors of the villain when in reality their entire group wasn't that different than him. All of them had killed and hurt someone in their pasts, beautiful Caroline included. She seemed to forget and willingly ignore that little fact._

_She was a dreamer, yes. She thought that she was fighting for the right cause. She didn't know yet that in a thousand years she wouldn't be that different from him._

_He might be a monster, but at least he was facing reality without pretending to be something better than what he really was._

_Caroline was still searching for knights in shining armors. Sooner or later she would have to come to terms that the nobility she was after had been extinct from the world a long time before either of them was born._

_And while Caroline was ready to die in order to protect those that she loved he couldn't help but wonder who would do the same for her._

_It was only a matter of time._

_Sooner or later she would pay the ultimate price for her misplaced loyalty and she would sacrifice herself for his doppelganger and for the rest of those misfits. And then the world would turn out to be a really dark place with no light to brighten it._

_He wasn't going to allow her to do such a thing to herself. She was a vampire with immense potential and she could have the whole world bowing to her feet._

_He was going to make sure that she was going to live a long eternal life by his side doing exactly that._

_The days where Caroline Forbes put her life in the line of danger for others was over._

_Under his protection she would be safe and maybe in time she would learn to regard him not as her enemy any more. But even if she didn't it would be worth it as long as she would be his._

_He turned his attention solely on her eyes and at her stance of defiance._

_For a moment he had her where he wanted. She was giving in to desire and what she didn't know was that he wasn't forcing her reactions. It was all her. This might be a mentally created reality, but right now all this felt real for her and the projection of her body in this world was having almost the same reactions she would have in the real one._

_The dream world was a precarious place. True emotions and desires could get magnified and heightened. This didn't make them less real, but it did make them even more dangerous. Dreams were a way for suppressed inclinations and longings to manifest. And now he knew without a shadow of a doubt that a part of Caroline wanted him. It was the part that she kept denying. It was there, though. It was present. Buried under all the pretense of loathing and disgust. There was a part of her that wanted to give in to temptation. At some level both her heart and flesh wanted him._

_It was real, he wasn't forcing this._

_Even though he had entered her dreams and he had the power to make her feel everything he wanted, tonight he was allowing her to have control over her reactions, her thoughts and her decisions. What he was planning to come next was depending on it. He wanted Caroline to feel and think on her own. And the thick sexual tension and confusion she felt moments before was all her. All sweet, beautiful, her._

_She was reacting to his touch as only a lover would. And this was making him ecstatic. If she could only give in to him completely he wouldn't have to treat her like this._

_But alas those endearing moments didn't take too long to vanish. She raised her walls up again shutting him out._

_He would have to fix this._

_He smiled and prepared himself for what was going to follow. He couldn't wait to see and feel Caroline's reactions and her surrender._

_He started walking around her slowly. His eyes those of a hunter that was ready to devour his prey._

_And he could feel that she felt it. He wanted to test her reaction; he wanted to feel her need for him again. So he took his time. He waited until he felt her resolve break again under his scrutiny. It was a game that he excelled at. He knew how to intimidate and silence was one of many ways to do it._

_Caroline needed answers and a way to find logic in their little game. Something to fuel her fight. Something to hold to. The longer he prolonged the moment, the more her impatience and fear were getting the best of her._

_The sound of his steps and the crackling of the flames were the only sounds. Every moment lasting longer than the last._

" _Protecting those that you care for is an admirable trait for sure," he said as he stood behind her, and for a moment he enjoyed the sight of her bare back. The provocative red dress was hugging her body like a tight glove exposing the entire length of her back. The alabaster ivory skin there was so tempting that he couldn't resist and with a deliberate slow caress he traced the pad of his thumb all over her spine up to her neck._

_He smiled at the sound of the moan that escaped her lips, he felt the goose bumps all over her skin and before she could move away from him he held her by the shoulders._

_He pulled her closer and the sound of the erratic beating of her heart was a divine melody in his ears._

__The muscles of his chest convulsed when her bare back crashed on his torso__.

_His lips barely touched her ear and his hands slid down her arms still holding her in place._

" _And while you are protecting the people you love who is there to protect you?" he purred huskily._

_His nose touched the lobe of her ear and he felt her melting in his hands. Her head fell backwards giving him better access at her neck. The ice around her was slowly melting._

" _Who is keeping you safe? Who would die for you Caroline?" the small whimper that left her lips was enough to drive him crazy._

" _You are so beautiful, strong, full of light," he couldn't help but repeat the same words he had told her some time ago because it was what she really was. In his eyes she was shining more than a blinding star. It was so sad that she couldn't see herself through his eyes. Maybe then she could understand why he needed her in his life so desperately._

_He smelled her hair and his hands gently stroked the exposed skin of her arms._

" _You have so much potential and you are wasting yourself away," he said belittlingly._

_Before he knew it she abruptly turned around and shoved him away._

" _What would you know about sacrifice? I don't need anyone to die for me! I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anyone did that for me." She said as her chest heaved._

_He had been enjoying her desire and her longing for his touch, but that fire was what he really loved about her._

" _This is not a game because from the beginning you knew that I wanted to get to know you and you are indeed strong and beautiful and full of light, but you are lost," he declared._

_She looked at him confused and this time his smile was genuine and melancholic. It resembled something akin to pity._

_He walked in a slow circle around her. Her eyes following his every movement._

" _Tell me Caroline, the day Alaric trapped you at the school he caught you at the parking lot in front of your car correct?"_

_She paused for a moment. Confusion appearing in her facial expression._

" _Yeah so? What does this have to do with anything?" she asked him frowning._

_His gaze kept inspecting her. He could sense her surprise._

_She wasn't expecting this question._

" _Rebekah told me that he snapped your neck while you were about to get in your car." He looked at her expecting her to deny or to admit it. Unfortunately, he already knew the whole story._

_And he could also remember that day clearly. He remembered the exact moment he had found her in the corridor. Her fear and then her relief when she saw him. His own relief when he realized that she was safe._

_The thing was that she shouldn't have been there in the first place. And yet there she was. Tortured because once again she was nothing more than collateral damage._

_He pushed aside the little voice in his head that told him that the exact same day, after he made sure that she would be safe, she had celebrated his desiccation. He had to remain focused because those thoughts were fueling his anger, but now was not the right time. Now he and Caroline had more important things to do._

_He waited until he saw her nodding with uncertainty. Confirming that he was indeed right._

" _Why was that sweetheart?" he asked her softly._

" _Why was what?" she snapped._

_He smiled at her youth and her inexperience. Her emotions a flood that she couldn't control. He waited patiently for her to answer._

_She pressed her lips together in irritation._

" _Alaric wanted Elena and he used me to get her, you know this."_

_Her aggravation started filling the air._

" _I do know this," he said using his hypnotic voice again._

" _But this is not what I meant Caroline," his voice turned cunning._

_Caroline went rigid. His raspy voice and everything that his tone implied were covering her in a veil of uncertainty._

_From their few encounters in the past she had learned never to trust him when he was using his charm on her. But this time was different. This time something twisted tight in her belly. Whatever he was about to say or do she wasn't going to like. The way he was looking at her was making her skin crawl._

_He approached her yet again. This time his eyes were burning holes into hers._

" _What exactly do you mean then?" she asked him, not backing down._

_For a moment he seemed amused, but then his whole posture stiffened._

" _It was day. You had the advantage. You and Rebekah had stabbed him. You had plenty of time; you had a ring while he didn't. He was still adjusting and you knew he was a new vampire did you not?"_

" _Enough with the stupid questions!" she yelled at him._

_His hands grabbed her from her shoulders and brought her near him in a swift movement that made her freeze. His eyes were now a signal of danger and she stopped moving all together._

" _Why did you go for your car Caroline? Why didn't you run? You are a vampire! You can run faster than the wind. You can walk in the sun. You could have run and you could have easily found refuge and yet what did you do? You went for your bloody car! Why?" he asked her harshly while his hands kept digging into the flesh of her shoulders like steel manacles._

_She started quivering._

" _I don't understand," she stammered._

_She saw him closing his eyes and breathing deeply. His jaw tensed._

" _No, you don't and that is the problem," he said and his hands fell from her shoulders. He was about to turn around when she touched his forearm._

_He looked at her hand first and then at her eyes._

_She could feel his eyes studying her as she was trying to explain what happened, to him and to her._

" _I… It was the first thing that I thought, I had to get away and I…"_

_He interrupted her then._

" _And you went for your car…have you ever stopped to think why you would do such a thing?" his voice was calm once again. He talked to her like he would to a child._

_She lowered her hand and looked at him feeling confused._

" _Think about it sweetheart. You could have run. Simple as that. He wouldn't have gotten to you. Why didn't you?" he kept pressing her._

_She shook her head. Her thoughts bombarding her mind._

' _She couldn't understand, what was he asking her?_

_Why didn't she run? So what? She was scared, confused. It was pure instinct.'_

" _Yes Caroline your survival instincts did work," he said once again proving to her that he could read her thoughts, "the only problem was that they worked in the wrong way," he said in an eerie tone._

_She still couldn't follow his train of thought._

" _In a…human way," she heard him whispering the words with contempt._

_She took an unnatural breath and then she took a step back. She went rigid. She didn't like where this was going._

_She had to find a way to wake up. Now!_

_He only smirked and she looked around. There had to be way out she kept thinking in her panic. This is a dream, this isn't real._

" _The answer to your question lies here, Caroline."_

_His words an ominous statement._

" _What I want from you is to be everything you truly are," he said in an unyielding tone._

" _This is what all this is about?" she lashed out "one more of your sick experiments? Stefan didn't work out so now you are searching for a new ripper?" she accused him feeling sick._

" _No. Never," he vowed to her._

_She shook her head. Her perfectly curly waves falling around her face._

_He took her hands in his and kept them locked in a tight holding._

" _I appreciate your light Caroline, you already know that. Your humanity is one of the things that make you special, I want you to keep part of it, but I also want you to survive," he said almost lovingly._

_She tried to take her hands out of his, but he didn't let her._

" _Not many vampires live more than a few decades. If you don't embrace your nature now, if you don't learn how to harness your abilities and differentiate your human emotions from who you really are sooner or later this will become your own undoing," he said with an urgency that moved her._

" _What is this? Vampire lessons one to one?" she said while her whole body seemed to be protesting to this proximity. She was starting to get used to being so close to him and that alarmed her and made her want to find any escape possible._

_He laughed, sounding almost sad._

_His hands left hers and then touched her face. He bent so his gaze would be completely in line with hers._

" _I wish I would have had someone to teach me sweetheart, but I had no one…I had to do it alone, you don't have to" he said and she heard him sigh when she moved away from him._

" _Stefan taught me everything I need to know," she replied indignantly._

_He laughed, this time amused. The sound of his laughter was such a strange sound. She could even imagine him being carefree and young, laughing in his age of innocence. But this was a diabolic laughter. One that resembled the hell that was creeping into his soul after a millennia filled of debauchery and depravities._

" _Yes, Stefan! Not a twisted psychotic vampire with a God complex," she fired at him disdainfully._

" _Right, because ripper Stefan was always the perfect example to be followed," he mocked her._

" _He has changed," she said feeling the need to defend her friend._

_Klaus's brow rose and then he looked at her with empathy._

" _Yes, he has hasn't he? Surely his last victims just months ago, or better yet what was left of them, would oppose to such a statement, but you know who truly Stefan is at heart don't you, love?" his words slippery with poisonous irony._

_She couldn't control herself any longer. She rushed to him and started shoving him back with all her might, momentarily forgetting that this was the dream world and all her strength was created by him and he could easily control her or make her weak._

_Her anger was about to turn into tears._

" _You! All of it was you! You took him away from us. You changed him back! He was trying, he wasn't perfect, but he was trying. You are the monster! You!" she accused him while she wished there was a way to hurt him. To really hurt him. To make him feel pain._

_He destroyed everything that was in his way. Everywhere he went death followed. Everything he touched crumbled to dust. Jenna was dead. Stefan, Elena, Jeremy, Bonnie, Tyler even Damon, all of them went through hell because of him. And now her._

_Her anger was turning into rage and then into fury._

_She didn't need any of his games or his promises. She just wanted him out of her life forever! She despised him in every way possible. She would never give herself to such a monster. Never!_

_With every accusation her fists pounded and punched his solid sternum._

_She didn't realize that her thoughts and her words were changing him. She didn't realize that her poison was finding its target._

_She didn't see how his eyes changed. How the blue hue of his orbs turned darker. And then even more dark. The blue got lost in the blackness. The fire in his eyes was roaring. Silently ready to break free and burn everything. To burn her and leave nothing, but ash._

_She didn't hear the growl that left his lips or how his muscles tightened. She didn't see how for a moment everything around her distorted and turned lurid. Light giving away to darkness. In his anger even his control of his dream changed, but she didn't notice it._

_If she had noticed how the air grew thicker and how the glint in his eyes reflected madness maybe she would have stopped._

_Before she knew it he had pinned her against the wall. The force of this action cut her breath._ _His hands were causing her pain and she could feel her bones shifting._ _His eyes had changed and she was facing the hybrid now. His black veins emerging and the gold of his pupils causing her heart to beat in a rhythm of terror._

" _I am the monster?" he bellowed with his hands shaking her like a ragdoll._

_The words that left his mouth seemed more like animal sounds than human syllables._

" _I didn't create the evil inside Stefan! I didn't create the monster! It was there before I even met him and it will be there after I am gone!" he roared._

_And while he was screaming at her she could feel his despair mixed with his fury._ _The light that was spilling in the room from the candles and the fire was now reflecting of his fangs. His breath was hot as his fingers bit into her arms._ _Her mouth was dry and it was the first time she realized what people meant when they said that Klaus was a force to be reckoned with._

" _Let me go!" she screamed at him not caring for the consequences anymore._

" _This is what Stefan's victims kept screaming to him too. Let me go…please…don't!" he taunted her unrelentingly._

_He kept pushing her. Her back hitting the imaginary wall behind her in that forced reality he had cast upon her. Even if this was just a dream in felt real. The pain felt real. His hands felt real. His rage was more than real._

_And somehow she wasn't afraid that he would harm her physically. She was afraid that he would break her spirit. There would be no turning back from that._

" _Stop it!" she pleaded knowing that he was too far gone to hear her. She had to try even though she knew she couldn't soothe his anger so easily._

" _Yes, they were also begging for him to stop! But he didn't stop did he? He ripped and savaged and he craved more. It wasn't just the blood he wanted. It was the pain and the screams. It wasn't a means to an end for him. It was pleasure. It was what made him tick," he said in fury as his face muscles convulsed and his face turned human again._

_It didn't make her feel safer. His eyes sparkled with insanity in their depths._

" _Did you know that your teacher taught me some of my greatest tricks? Some forms of torture I couldn't even dream of? Tell me sweetheart do you want me to show you? To make you see into my memory? To see whom the real monster is?" he spat at her with a low vicious sound._

_She struggled to get out of his hold, but it was impossible._

_His body crashed on hers and his lips touched her ear. She froze._

" _He cut their heads and their limbs. Everywhere he went decay and torn flesh were to be found. Body parts everywhere. Did you know that sometimes he ripped their skin from their faces? Peeling it off and then licking the bloody remains while they kept screaming?" his whisper was one of a lover. His words were spoken in seduction and her stomach churned with bile._

" _Stop please!" she begged him again as she trembled at his hands._

" _Why would I? I am the monster isn't that what you keep telling yourself? Monsters don't stop Caroline. Stefan didn't stop!" His mouth found its way to the vein in her throat. He kissed the throbbing artery gently feeling every erratic pulse._

_He lifted his head and his gaze locked with hers. It was like he was compelling her only this was different. She could see inside his mind. He was forcing her into seeing his memories._

_Images of blood and ripped bodies filled her vision. She wanted to throw up. She didn't want to think of this every time she saw Stefan, but right now Klaus was filling her mind with his memories. Memories of blood and torture. Of horror and searing terror._

_One memory after another. Horrific sounds and images._ _Torn flesh, ripped skin, heads rolling away, hearts and organs lying around. Torn clothes soaking in blood. Body parts. Corpses._

_And names on a wall. So many names. So many letters littering a wall._

_She wanted to throw up. Her stomach rolled and bile came up into her mouth. Now all those thoughts were her thoughts too. Those memories would be her memories too because she would never be able to forget them._

_And then all she could see behind her tears was Klaus's eyes looking at her scornfully._

" _I am what is evil and twisted in your mind? This is how all of you sleep easy at night? What about him? Before he even met me how many women has your savior killed? How many men and children? Keep defending him, Caroline. I dare you!" he challenged her dangerously and then he let go of her like he would a puppet._

_She tried to hold on, but she couldn't stand on her feet. She slowly slid against the wall._ _She fell to the floor and tried to get up but failed. She was shaking and when he kneeled in front of her she didn't dare move or look at him._

_His index finger and his thumb touched her chin and lifted her head so he could see her eyes that she knew were now red with new unshed tears._

" _No matter how many bunnies he teaches you to hunt, no matter how many failed promises he gives to you he will always be the ripper. Do you know why?"_

_She tried to move away, but he caught her again by her elbow._

" _Not because he is a monster, but because he never learned how to be a vampire. He never learned that you cannot walk two paths." His eyes shone with understanding. It was at this moment that his true age and the knowledge that came with it showed._

" _He never learned how to be a vampire without shame. How to balance his humanity with the predator that lurks inside," he told her knowingly._

" _Humanity will always fight vampirism. If you don't learn how to control your real nature and how to revel in it, humanity will be your greatest weakness and your ultimate downfall," he warned her._

_His eyes were filled with understanding and compassion. This was always her greatest fear and his words were hurting her more than he could imagine._

" _This is what you want? This is what you want to become? Another torn vampire? To follow Stefan's footsteps?" he pressed her more._

" _I can't be what you want me to be, stop…please," she whispered, her voice broken._

_She appealed to his humanity. It was her last resort._

" _What I want you to be is strong; fearless. What I want is for you to shine, to be free." His voice was now a gentle caress._

' _What I want is for you to be mine' were the words that he didn't say yet they haunted both of them._

_She could tell that in his mind he was taking her freedom and her choices away in order to give her what he thought was a greater freedom._

_His eyes were looking her adoringly now. The monster had abandoned the recesses of his heart._

" _I want you to be safe, never to feel guilt," he said and it was his eyes that were now pleading._

_She shivered as he moved even closer. His hands got lost in her hair as he gently moved her head closer to his._

" _And you can sweetheart," he said with conviction._

" _You can be magnificent, if only you would give me a chance. One chance Caroline. To show you everything you can do. Give me one chance and I promise to you I will stop everything here. There will be no more dreams. I will remove the compulsion and I will teach you everything you need to learn in the real world. One chance sweetheart, this is the only thing I really want from you." The hope in his gaze was compelling her to agree._

_His hands brought her closer. He gathered her to him and she nestled against him. She could feel his heart beating loud in hope._

" _Give me one chance, I ask nothing more of you" his soft voice was a tempting promise and it was in that moment that she understood that this would be the one and only chance he was going to give her. Her only way out. All she had to do was to submit to his will._

_All she would have to do was let him teach her; let him show her all his knowledge._

_To allow him to be her mentor and her shield._

_She could feel that if she were to reject him in this it would be her undoing. He would never relent again. He would never show her another weakness._

_This was the key moment were he could set her free. The moment where he could break this nightmare and forget all of his vengeful plans; and maybe in the future she could even convince him to change his mind._

_But the price was too high. He wasn't just asking her to let him show her how to be a vampire. He was asking her to give in to him. To let him be everything for her. To follow his path and to abide by his rules._

_There was no escape when it came to Klaus. If she were to say yes she would be giving him more than a chance. She would be giving him everything she was; forever._

_She would be his and he wouldn't let go. Not ever._

_And she couldn't do that. She couldn't forget who he was and she couldn't forget who she was._

_Maybe it was stupid, but she couldn't sign away her freedom and her will to him. That wasn't who she really was. She couldn't do it. She would never do such a thing and deep down she was certain that he knew it to. No matter how much she would try she could only give him her honesty and that meant that she couldn't give him the chance he was asking._

_She felt him turn rigid before she even gave him her answer. For a moment while he was holding her in his embrace a sudden feeling of comfort had came over her. All the agony had faded away and now the moment was gone. It was like someone had thrown ice on her skin._

_She could tell that he already knew. He could read her thoughts here after all. But he didn't let go._

_Not until the words slipped her lips._

" _I can't…" she whispered and a part of her still hoped that maybe he wouldn't tear her down for this, but deep down she knew that now she would have to face his cruelty all over again._

_Silence enveloped them and then he gently let go of her and stood up. He was raising his walls up again. She could see clearly that he was fighting with his own emotions and while he was doing that he refused to spare her even a glance._

_Her hand rose to touch him, but he had moved away from her. His back was turned and she couldn't see his expression any more._

_And then he turned._

_He looked at her from above for a moment and then his face showed no emotion anymore._

" _I can tell that you enjoy being a vampire. You enjoy being ageless, eternal. You enjoy the strength and the energy you feel," he said, his voice ice cold._

_And then she could hear it again. The murmuring that she kept hearing when she was in the corridors. It resembled a sad melody. Like someone was in mourning._

_Caroline looked around the room, but only she and Klaus were here. And yet there was that sound that was filling the air and Klaus's eyes were now glinting viciously. Her mind started dwelling on all the possibilities and it made her blood run cold._

_The humming became clearer and it was making her heart speed up. She could also smell blood and a calling to give in to a hunger that was claiming her mind and senses._

_She had to force all of her concentration so her vampiric features wouldn't emerge._

_The sound became different somehow. A plead for life and death. A sound of terror and yet of pleasure too. It was hard for Caroline to understand how a sound could be a calling for both life and destruction._

_Klaus was carefully inspecting her now with what seemed like a mixture of anticipation and intrigue._

_She picked up herself from the floor and the humming became even louder and more powerful as did her blood lust._

_She slowly backed away and her back hit the wall again._

" _Klaus, please don't do this," she murmured pleadingly._

_He ignored her though and kept talking in a detached way. There was no way for her to approach him again. Whatever he had planned for her was now unfolding._

" _And yet you can't fully embrace your nature. Inconsequential human conventions are holding you down. You are still bound by trivial conducts that once you become a vampire you shouldn't engage in anymore." His voice was eerily low._

_Her gaze locked onto his face and she looked straight at his eyes._

" _I will never forgive you for this," she told him enunciating every word, making it a promise. It was true. He wanted to break her and she would never forgive him nor would she ever forget._

_He clenched his jaw and she didn't avert her eyes._

" _You are a very, young vampire Caroline," he said dismissively. "And you have a very wrong perspective as to what is right and wrong or even what time means for our kind. The problem lies in the fact that you never had the proper opportunity to learn what it truly means to be a vampire," he told her in an alluring soft tone and yet she could clearly see that his gaze had turned dark and calculating._

_Fear instantly consumed her as the murmuring stopped all of a sudden and the only thing she could hear was her own blood coursing through her own veins, pumping hard under her skin._

" _But we are going to rectify this…" he then said with a wicked smile._

_A bright light blinded her and she couldn't keep her eyes open._

_._

_**End of part one.** _

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -This was a dream obviously so this is why most of the text is in italics. Keep in mind that I have written the two parts as ONE chapter therefore the flow (it was meant to be read as one chapter after all) will be much better when I post the second part (which is going to be darker and Klaus's true intentions will be revealed). Everything that happened in this first part is leading to a climax, plot wise, but since I broke the chapter you will have to wait until part two. 
> 
> Thank you for reading.


	6. When Nightmares Come to Life : Part Two _  Aches for Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to my beta Anastasia Dreams.

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I had a dream, which was not all a dream.

Darkness – Lord Byron

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**_Previously in Sweet Nightmares:_ **

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_"When the clock strikes midnight you will fall into a deep sleep…"_  
  
_And then the clock struck midnight…_  
  
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_"You are a very, young vampire Caroline," he said dismissively. "And you have a very wrong perspective as to what is right and wrong or even what time means for our kind. The problem lies in the fact that you never had the proper opportunity to learn what it truly means to be a vampire," he told her in an alluring soft tone and yet she could clearly see that his gaze had turned dark and calculating._  
  
_Fear instantly consumed her as the murmuring stopped all of a sudden and the only thing she could hear was her own blood coursing through her own veins, pumping hard under her skin._  
  
_"But we are going to rectify this…" he then said with a wicked smile._  
  
_A bright light blinded her and she couldn't keep her eyes open._  
  
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_**When Nightmares Come to Life** _

_**Part two _ Aches for Blood** _

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_We have fallen far from grace and the devil made us sin. Our virtue washed away in a sea of blood. And yet, here we stand bare and broken with an unspoken hope that we hold as our shield. It wasn't our will; it was the serpent that deceived us. It happened in a dream where our real selves were covered under the cloak of seduction. Tempted into a dance of murder and sin._

_But it wasn't really us. It couldn't be._

_For if it was, then the devil would be part of our soul. And you can hide from everyone, but yourself._

_Would you then dare to whisper again that the devil made you sin?_

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_When she reopened her eyes she saw that she and Klaus were not the only people in the room anymore._

_There was also another girl who was dancing in slow circles, humming softly. She seemed to be in some kind of a trance._

_Caroline's heart stopped and started to beat faster and faster. She could hear every hollow breath that pumped vibrantly in her veins._

_Klaus sat on his wooden carved chair again in front of the fireplace. He raised his hand towards the dancing girl but his eyes were still locked on hers._

_Caroline couldn't do anything as she watched the young woman that had now stopped dancing and humming._

_The girl seemed to have eyes only for Klaus and as if she was mesmerized she slowly went and stood in front of him and smiled her brightest and contented smile. Her eyes seemed to be vacant. Her white dress was making her skin seem pale under the dim lights in the room and her black tresses were shining and reflecting the obscure light from the flames in the hearth near her._

_Caroline squinted her eyes. She knew that girl but somehow no matter how much she tried she couldn't remember from where she knew her._

_Klaus looked at the girl from head to toe like she was some sort of merchandise and then he gave her a slight nod. That was enough for the girl to give her hand to Klaus. He gently took it in his palm and his fingers started caressing her wrist. The more his touch lingered on the delicate flesh, the more the girl's veins became clearer on her skin._

_Klaus' beautiful ingénue took a sharp intake of breath and her arousal bloomed._

_Caroline gulped and Klaus smirked. His fangs emerged and with his vampiric eyes looking only at Caroline he slowly took the human wrist in his mouth. He bit with fervor and the girl moaned in pleasure._

_The scent of blood filled the air and Caroline's mouth suddenly went dry. She tried to keep the smell at bay, but in each breath she was taking the scent of that girl's blood in. Her hunger was awakened and Caroline was mesmerized by the hot intensity of Klaus' vampiric gaze on her. Slowly but surely, her instincts came to life. She wanted to join Klaus, but most of all she wanted her lips to replace his and savor the same taste that dueled in his mouth right now._

_Klaus released the girl's arm and she started moving in slow circles in front of him again. Her wrist was bleeding and a river of red was moving down her hand. Drops of blood colored the floor all around her with each slow circle she took. She seemed to take no notice._

_But the smell of blood was becoming almost too much for Caroline to bear. So much, she had to close her eyes._

_Stefan once told her that taking deep breaths helped in maintaining control but now with each deep breath, control was slipping away and giving way to a craving so intense she spiraled._

_She jolted backwards when Klaus' hands caressed her shoulders. She opened her eyes and saw his blue eyes looking directly at her._

_But she could only look at his mouth and at the little droplets of blood that escaped his lips while he fed on the girl._

_She took another deep breath. The bloodlust was clouding her judgement._

_Klaus' thumb swept that tempting drop of blood from the edge of his red lips and brought it to Caroline's mouth._

_She couldn't even control herself as the web of black thin veins covered the skin around her eyes. Klaus' finger lingered on her lips and without any logic, her tongue darted out of her mouth and licked the saccharine essence._

_Klaus smirked at that and she blinked, surprised, and took a step back._

" _No, sweetheart, don't," he purred and his incredibly calm and yet alluring voice tempted her to unintentionally move closer to him._

_Behind him the girl kept dancing and twirling around as she hummed her haunting tune again. Her bleeding wrist was leaving a path of blood all around her._

_Caroline wanted to tell him to stop, but she didn't trust her own voice anymore. Klaus seemed enchanted by her now. Her vampiric nature was dancing in her eyes and it was like he was proud of her somehow._

_That sick look brought her back to reality._

_She jerked away and looked horrified. Had she really licked his thumb?_

" _Stay away from me," she yelled at him in frustration,n but that only made his smile wider._

_Her eyes turned to their normal emerald color again and her anger started to flare._

" _Break the connection now! Let me wake up!" she all but ordered him, looking at the girl. She felt like she was on the verge of hysteria._

" _Why is that, sweet Caroline? Is the temptation too much for you to handle?" he asked with his baritone voice._

_She was frozen to her spot now and her gaze locked with his. She somehow refused to back down in this little game of his. She knew, though, he was right. The temptation was too much. All she could hear was the girl's heartbeat and all she could feel was the taste of the blood she moments before tasted from Klaus' finger. It was becoming hard for her to resist. She was feeling the need to attack the girl. To sink her teeth into her throat and lose herself in the blood. But, she had to hold on to something. This was exactly what Klaus wanted._

_She didn't know why it mattered since all this was a dream and she couldn't really hurt anyone in a dream, but aside from the fact that all this seemed and felt painfully real she knew that if Klaus wanted her to succumb to her hunger, it was because he had an ulterior motive._

" _There is no temptation," she told him, standing her ground._

_He looked at her, amused now._

" _This is a dream, it isn't real," she declared and she kept thinking again and again that all she had to do was wait. To buy some time. He couldn't keep her in this dream forever. Sooner or later, he would have to let her wake up. It would all be over then. At least, this trial would._

" _This is where you are wrong, love," he said in a soft voice and she tried to control her anger once again. This thing that he kept doing with reading her thoughts was getting old! And it was really making her furious!_

_He spread his arms wide open. She wanted to roll her eyes at his theatrical gestures, but instead, she gritted her teeth in anticipation of his next move._

" _All this is not real in the way the world and reality are perceived, yes, but dreams are always real Caroline," he told her._

_He pointed at the girl with his hand._

" _Your need for blood is more than real," he stated in a persuasive tone._

_His eyes examined hers._

" _Your dreams are the way for your subconscious to express all of the suppressed needs and desires that are hidden in your soul. Everything you crave, everything you keep running from. Your hopes, your fears. Everything you want from life. And that, my dear, are all very real," he emphatically said with a pointed look._

_Caroline took a deep breath as she looked at the girl and her bleeding wrist. Saliva was forming in her mouth._

_She shook her head. No, he was lying!_

" _This is not my dream. This is your sick twisted fantasy. You are forcing this," she accused him and her face hardened._

_Klaus smiled and moved closer. He prowled around her and he stood in front of her, obviously enjoying their close proximity._

" _Here is where you are wrong Caroline. Have you ever tried to force your way into someone's mind before?" he asked her curiously._

_She didn't answer._

_No, she never had. She was always feeling too uncomfortable to do something like that. It felt like she would be invading a place that should be unreachable for anyone else aside from the person the thoughts and dreams belonged too. That and the fact that she didn't trust her inexperience with this._

" _Sweetheart, your morality is holding you back." He sighed tiredly as he mocked her._

_He could hear and feel her thoughts so when the first thing she thought was that she really wanted to find something to smash on that thick skull of his, he had to control himself from telling her how cute she was and from provoking her into trying to do what she felt like. It would certainly be fun…but maybe another time he thought…_

" _What would you know about morals?" she spat at him._

_He smirked as if he was enjoying this moment to no end. Her emotions of anger were quite a treat._

" _About human morals? Not much, I admit; I was never that interested in them since I am not a human… as you are not one also," he said as he continued taunting her._

_She refused to say anything. She just slowly moved her head from one side to the other._

_He could feel that she really pitied him in that moment._

' _He doesn't have any humanity left in him does he?' was one of her thoughts that somehow hurt him the most._

_It did hurt, when he knew that it shouldn't have. He always considered humanity to be a weakness so why was he feeling bad when Caroline was realizing that, indeed, he had banished his humanity away? It was an achievement that he was proud of. So why did it hurt?_

_His eyes darkened for a moment, but then he sighed._

_He decided to let that pass. It would be for the best if she believed that he was completely ruthless and inhumane. Which was true, since his only shreds of humanity were practically nonexistent and somehow they seemed to appear only in front of her._

_But, his cruelty was going to make her fight him harder and at every lost battle, she would understand that there was no point in struggling against him. She would be giving in more and more with each lesson learned._

_Tonight, against all logic, he gave her a chance to do all this in an easier way. For a moment, he hoped that she would give him a chance. And he found himself hoping against all hope for her to do so. He still couldn't understand why he made her such an offer. It seemed that Caroline was making him do things unthinkable for him. Only she had that ability._

_When she rejected him once more, he felt a destructive force claiming his heart and mind._

_It would have been easier for her to submit, but his Caroline never did things the easy way. And this was one of the reasons why he was so attracted to her._

_He had shown weakness. He had shown to her that there was a part of him that hated hurting her and that he would prefer to have a chance with her where she would be willing to follow his mentoring and where he would give her the time to come to terms with now she belonged to him._

_That was the one and only moment of weakness that he would show. And, he would never allow, not even to her, to take advantage of his momentarily lapse of judgment. Should he not say, stupidity._

_Caroline Forbes had decided her fate and now they would do things the hard way. And that way insured complete surrender on her part._

_He had to lure her in and make sure that she would make the right choices from now on._

_He looked at the bright color of her eyes. A mixture of green and blue that changed shades constantly. He smiled at how innocent she looked at that moment._

_A vampire perceived as an innocent creature, could be very powerful and deadly. Even her appearance could be a lethal weapon in her hands if she only knew how to use it properly._

_He stood in front of her and decided to use his most tender voice. He didn't want to scare her anymore. He hoped for her to give in because she was tempted. He could threaten her into submission if he had to, but for now he preferred the skills of persuasion better._

" _In any case, Caroline, if you had ever tried to use your telepathic abilities you would have realized that someone's mind is a very complex tunnel. A dream is a place of endless possibilities. Possibilities that already exist in you; and even though I am able to project to you a reality that I control, in the end this is still your dream," he explained to her._

_Usually, he didn't feel the need to use so many words or to explain his actions, but this time it was necessary. She had to understand the rules of their little game and it would be a good thing if she were to start becoming intrigued when it came to her vampiric abilities. It was a great shame that she was holding herself back when she should be exercising all of her talents constantly and excel on them._

_The positive of this peculiar situation of hers, of course, was that he would be the one to teach her. And he would find great pride and pleasure in doing exactly that._

_He looked at her and he could feel the wheels of her mind constantly turning as she took in all of the information he gave to her. The workings of her mind were a magnificent creation, indeed._

_Caroline pulled her eyebrows in contemplation. If what he was saying was true and if this was still her dream, then she could still have a chance to find a way out of this. It seemed impossible, though. She could feel Klaus inside her mind. He had taken complete control. If what he was saying was true, that meant that even though this was still her dream, he still was the one in the driver's seat pointing her and the direction he wanted._

" _Why are you telling me all of this?" she asked him, feeling unable to hide the venom and despair from her voice. But somehow curiosity was also creeping in._

_Klaus leaned forward eliminating the last of the space that was between them._

_The aura that his body emitted was mixing with hers and enveloping her in a Cimmerian shade. She lowered her gaze until it was hidden under her long eyelashes. He wouldn't be able to see her eyes and she wouldn't see his. She needed distance, but he was too close._

_She could feel his voice whispering over the skin of her face. Soft, low, a drawling caress._

" _Because you need to understand that no matter what happens next, this is your dream. Everything you feel, everything you need is coming from you. This is your world Caroline, your insatiable desire and ultimately… your own choice."_

_She dared to steal a quick glance at him and the intensity she saw in those eyes made her feel like her feet no longer touching the ground._

_A storm was coming._

_He pulled her firmly to him. He bent towards her until his mouth was against her ear. Each word was sending a warm breeze of air straight to the skin on her neck and causing shivers to pass through her._

" _I am showing you a path that already exists inside of you and the choice to walk on it will be yours. Because we both know that no matter how hard you try to fight your nature, deep down you crave nothing more than to embrace it."_

_She bit her lip and then let her breath out slowly. She hastily moved her head away._

" _Being a vampire doesn't mean becoming a monster. I will never choose to become one no matter how much you will try to turn me into one," she said with bitterness as her body trembled with tension under his hands._

" _Sweetheart," he sighed, "being a vampire doesn't make you a monster. You detest parts of your nature because of this unfounded fear that has been wrongly developed inside of you."_

_He slowly moved around her without letting her go and stood behind her. His hand gently swept the golden locks away from the side of her neck and his chin rested on her shoulder while his other hand wrapped around her waist in a possessive unrelenting hold._

" _Look at her Caroline. She is human. She is fragile. Her nature is flawed. She will live and no matter what dreams she'll make it won't be enough. She will eventually die," He said unemotionally._

" _She doesn't exist in order to serve you Klaus," she replied angrily, trying to get out of his hold without any success. She huffed, agitated at his hand holding her in place._

" _No, she doesn't. And I would never want that from her or any other human that is like her. This isn't personal sweetheart. Her existence means nothing to me."_

_His words were infuriating her. He was talking about a human being and he had no respect for the human life. How could someone be so cruel?_

" _It means more than everything for the people that care for her. For her family," she argued bitterly._

_He let her go and moved to her side. His hand caught her wrist and he dragged her closer to the girl. She tried to break free, but she couldn't._

_She was too close now. The blood that was still running from the girl's wrist was creating such an intense hunger it brought tears in her eyes. She knew it wasn't real, but it smelled as if it was, and it was driving her crazy._

_Klaus brought her next to the girl and held her there._

_The girl stopped dancing and stood in front of Caroline. Her expression blank._

_Caroline tried to move away, but Klaus held her in her spot from her upper arms._

" _True," he said, "But in two or three life spans away, which are nothing more than a mere wisp in your eternity, no one will even remember that she even existed. No one will care or love an insignificant memory that will fade in time," he said, his tone indifferent._

_The girl with the white dress seemed to be in a trance. She brought her bleeding arm higher and the blood dropped on her white soft dress._

_Caroline had to look away as she tensed._

" _How can you say that? We were human once. We were not born like this," she muttered so low that most of the words barely came out of her mouth._

_He turned her around in a spin. His eyes drank her in._

" _Exactly Caroline. We were human. We are not anymore. You are not anymore. You are a vampire sweetheart, you can't be both."_

_He seemed like he was trying to reason with her. His voice was soft with understanding as he shook her. He seemed like he was desperately trying to make her understand and each word was like a blow on her heart._

_With each word, he was slowly breaking her. She loved being a vampire. She would never revert back to being human, but she still loved her human memories. She still respected what being a human meant and represented, and she didn't want to let go of her own humanity. Not while her very human mother was still alive, and if she was honest with herself, not ever. Humanity was her part of how she perceived herself; it was part of her identity and she was not about to relinquish it to any man like Klaus or anyone else for that matter._

_Part of her still felt human in a very raw vampire way._

" _Human Caroline lived her life and died. Maybe her human years meant something for those close to her, but her time was up. It was her destiny to die. The memory of her human existence won't matter in a few decades. A few more and no one will remember she ever even existed."_

_Her eyes glittered with teardrops that refused to fall. She was just so tired and every emotion seemed magnified somehow. His words were provoking a sorrow inside her that was causing her sanity to falter. Her palms rested against his solid chest and she tried to push him away, but it seemed like her strength was fading away. Not her physical strength. It was a weakness that was coming from the inside._

" _No…" she sagged in his arms. Everything he was saying was just reminding her of how weak she once was. How her human self was not worthy of being remembered. How she used to be weak, shallow…a waste of space._

" _Yes," his tone was hard now._

_If she didn't know any better she would believe that those words were hurting him too. He seemed to share the same agony. His words were sinking in and each one of them was trying to tear down her whole belief system._

" _You might be oblivious to it because you are still so very young and attached to this constricting little human world but the human girl that you used to be died. Mourn her if you must, but eventually you will have to move on and embrace the woman that was born from her death."_

_He sounded tired and yet his voice was laced with unyielding force._

" _You are eternal, Caroline. You are magnificent. Never-ending. Your dreams can now reach the impossible. While before they could only reach as high as mortality allowed. You have no limitations holding you back anymore. You are truly and undeniably free."_

_His hand slipped to her cheek. A touch that was too warm, too intimate._

_She looked at him and slowly she brought up her own hand and covered his. That simple gesture seemed to mean the world to him as he closed his eyes in a serene way._

_Her touch was soothing the monster inside and for a moment he felt like she could finally understand him. She was still holding on to her humanity. She didn't want to let go, but he had. In order to survive he had to let go of everything that kept him human in the past._

_How could someone do that? How could he rip out his own human heart? She was a vampire and, yet, she could still feel her heart beating in a human song. She didn't want to silence that sound. He had, though._

_A part of him craved those human emotions. If he didn't, then why would a simple touch from her ignite such turmoil and peace inside of him? Even he couldn't lie like that. He needed a human touch even if it came from a vampire. From her._

" _And, yet, all of my memories are those I had as a human. All my dreams are shaped from what I was born to be. Those memories and those dreams shaped the person I am now," her voice was gentle. This time there was no anger._

_He slowly opened his eyes. The pain she saw in there caught her off guard. If there was so much pain in those eyes then maybe there was a chance of redemption even for him._

" _Would you revert back then? Given the chance, if it was a possibility, would you turn back into her? Into the human version of you?" his question burned her defenses._

_She didn't answer. She bit her lip and closed her eyes._

" _You wouldn't, would you?" he said with a certainty that was causing her pain and even shame._

_A shame that was born every time Elena spoke of what it meant to be human and every time Stefan cursed his vampirism and mourned the loss of his human nature. A shame that was rooted in the way Bonnie would somehow, at times, still look at her with contempt, and how her mother would gaze at her with pity and sorrow. A shame that was born from the fearful gazes Matt would cast her way all those times he thought she wasn't looking. And yet, she would never turn back. Because that shame didn't stop her from embracing the person she became after she turned. A person she was proud of._

" _No." She whispered and let her hand fall from him._

_His fingers moved slowly tracing patterns on her cheek and on the side of her lips._

_That caress made a slow moan slip from her mouth._

" _And that is what makes you strong Caroline. This is what makes you special. Have you ever thought that there is a reason that you feel that way?"_

_His hand moved south. He caressed the line of her neck until her heart fluttered and her skin flushed with need._

" _There are some of us that were always meant to be that way. It has been and will always be our fate. And, you are one of us, Caroline. You are a vampire. All you have to do is fully embrace your nature. Not hold back."_

_He took her hand and moved her so she was standing again in a very close proximity next to the black haired girl._

_Caroline squirmed and her backside hit his chest. She couldn't back away and she couldn't move forward. His body was an object she couldn't move and in front of her was a temptation she couldn't ignore._

_Her thirst was rising and, yet, something was still holding her back. Her need for control was too great and she needed to try to resist. She felt like she was on the verge of losing herself._

" _I don't want to forget who I am…I don't, I don't want to be a …monster…please…" she pleaded again to him._

_He held her from her shoulders. He kissed her neck as the girl came even closer._

_Caroline was trapped between two bodies now. His was igniting a carnal need like she never felt before and the girl was causing a hunger that was making her throat protest like it was on fire. Her gums were aching so much._

_Klaus' lips were tracing a path from her neck to her ear causing the ache to multiply._

" _You will never forget who you are. If anything, being a vampire insures that what you are is more now. Everything is amplified. You are not human, but you have the best traits of a human. In ways no human could ever experience," his voice was like an electric current. It was licking her flesh, it was setting her skin on fire._

_An inner darkness was rising. It was creeping inside her mind like a shadow. Her heart craved pleasure now._

_Her body was adjusting to his touch and as she closed her eyes she could feel the lust rushing through her veins. Black lines formed around her eyes and then faded. But his words kept making those blackish veins form again and again. She felt like she couldn't control the vampire inside of her anymore. It was taking control. It was swallowing her whole._

_She threw her head back as she rested against him. What was happening to her?_

" _Where you used to love, now you simmer with unthinkable emotions. You were intense before, now you burn with a passion that reigns higher than any human emotion. You will never forget Caroline, but what you are now is more than what you used to be."_

_It was like the devil was after her soul. His words were more than just a temptation. They were opening new worlds in front her. Calling her closer. Giving her anything and everything she could ever ask for and, yet, there was a pang in her heart. She was melting to liquid fire in his hands. She was craving blood and his voice, melodic and magnetic was making everything seem easy. Too easy. And somehow there was a part of her that was feeling like she was at the end of a cliff. The stupid, superficial, shallow human girl that craved love and hoped for a simple life where she would be cherished and safe was about to be lost forever and she didn't know if she was ready to let her go._

_She turned in his embrace once more and this time he let her._

_Her eyes were haunted with desire for the man she should despise completely. She knew that he could be causing this desire, but somehow she trusted him when he told her that this was her choice and that meant that a part of her wanted him. She couldn't ignore it right now. Not when it was consuming her._

_She could tell that everything in this dream was magnified to a point she couldn't even begin to comprehend, but the desire had to be there to begin with. And it was there. She knew all along that it was there, no matter how much she kept trying to deny it._

_Her face turned up to his._

" _This is how you justify everything you have done?" she asked him. Only this time there was no judgement in her voice. She needed to learn. To understand. How could someone tempt her like this when he was capable of such evil?_

_And maybe he could mold her in many shapes and forms, but becoming evil was something that she would never allow. Never._

_His smile was sad. He gently tugged a strand of hair behind her ear._

" _What you need to understand is that being a vampire doesn't make you malignant. You are a creature made in darkness and meant to walk in the night, but you are not evil. That is a choice and you are a spirit of light, sweetheart," his words were covered with an intensity that he couldn't hide from her anymore._

_His dark eyes met her gaze. A brutal honesty was shining there._

" _Vampires are neither good nor evil. We are capable of great monstrosities, yes, but we are also capable of greatness. In the end, every creature on this earth succumbs to its nature, love. What is yours calling you to be? What is it that you need?" he asked her urgently._

_He was making her weak. His voice, his eyes. Her body was coming alive. He was slowly opening her heart. He was tearing it open with heat and teeth and he was binding its chords into her bones. So deep she could turn to ash and he would still be there in an unfathomable echo of a beating heart. He was turning her heart into an organ of fire and he was about to enter and take reign there._

_She shivered and moved closer. She felt like she was about to fall, but his hands that had found their way to her waist were holding her steady._

" _I want…" she closed her eyes and stopped talking. She weakly rested her forehead over his, her breath coming out harshly and uneven._

" _Yes?" his voice was so tender now she felt safe._

_But, what she was really feeling was too hard to fight. The smell of blood was reaching her nostrils. She was feeling breathless._

" _I need…" her chest was now rising and falling with longing._

" _What my, love?" he seemed to be gently swaying her into the direction he wanted._

_She was giving in. Her breath was labored._

_She opened her eyes before clenching them shut again as the agony of hunger was invading her every cell. She was at the precipice of mania. She couldn't feel anything else._

_She opened her eyes and they were filled with darkness._

" _Blood…" she willingly pleaded._

_His smile was one of triumph. His hand motioned to the girl to come to them._

_The girl robotically moved and approached them. She gave her bleeding hand to Klaus. He brought the bleeding wrist centimeters from Caroline's mouth._

" _Then have at it," he encouraged her._

_Caroline bent her head closer to the source that could give her relief. But she turned her gaze to Klaus again. This was torment. Her control was her biggest enemy. Still present. Still fighting._

" _No…I can't," she swallowed hard._

" _Why not?" he said as his eyes hardened. Impatience clearly pictured in his features._

" _This isn't right, I don't want to hurt anyone," she told him and she watched the girl once again. She knew her. She could swear she had met her before, but she couldn't remember from where._

_Klaus let go of the girl's hand and turned all his attention to Caroline again._

" _Blood is life Caroline. Humans are instruments for us. Their existence ensures our survival and our pleasure," he pressured more as he brought the girl closer to her._

_The girl came near Caroline and this time Caroline pushed her aside more violently than she intended. She could hear the girl's heart beating and the scent from her blood was overwhelming._

_Her thoughts were hazy and all she wanted was to bury her fangs in that girl's hand, in her neck, in all her arteries. To ravage and kill and to drink every drop of blood that hid away in that body._

" _No, I…no!" she yelled and it was the sound of her own voice that made her vampiric features vanish from her face._

_This was insane. It was like she was two people. Both fighting for control. Her control and her instincts were at war here and when Klaus got closer to her it was then that her control was retreating, leaving her completely defenseless._

_Klaus took a deep breath. He advanced at her again. Thankfully, he didn't touch her. She seemed to be losing herself when he did._

" _Don't you feel incomplete without it? Don't you feel something missing inside when you don't hunt?" He asked, his eyes scrutinizing, "It is not just physical, sweetheart. It is not just survival. You are a predator now. You are meant to chase, to be wild, untamed."_

_He was making the irrational sound like it was logical._

" _Please stop," she said and stepped back. The girl had started that damn humming again. It was messing with her sanity._

" _Being a vampire isn't just about just drinking blood. It is also about procuring it. Feeling the rush…the sensation…You are a hunter now." he pressed._

_Caroline looked at him, begging him to understand and to let her go. This wasn't her. That need that was staining her soul black couldn't be her._

" _I don't want to hurt anyone," she kept repeating as she wrapped her hands around her trembling body._

_Klaus seemed to mellow down a little bit, but once again he didn't relent._

_He moved closer and took the girl from her upper arm with him._

_He dragged the girl that didn't resist and Caroline found herself again facing the temptation of blood in close proximity._

_Klaus grabbed the girl's hair and pushed it aside._

_His nail scratched the skin on the girl's neck while she hissed, not with pain, but pleasure._

_A dribble of blood poured on the pale skin._

_Klaus's lips found their way there and his tongue lapped the thick liquid. He moaned in pleasure and it made Caroline shudder._

_Klaus looked straight at her and smirked as he could sense her desire._

" _You won't, Caroline…the moment when your teeth connect with a human vein is the moment where a human feels the greatest emotion of their life. It is the moment where their fear will turn into pleasure as they give you their life as a gift. They are fulfilling your destiny, Caroline, and theirs."_

_He shoved the girl onto her and Caroline caught the girl instantly. This time she didn't push her away. Her eyes were fixed on the bloody wound in the throbbing neck. She dreamt of tearing that jugular apart._

_Klaus came closer and stood behind her once more. He bent so his lips would be close to hers and she could smell the girl's blood on his breath. It was intoxicating._

_She was still holding the girl in her hands and she gripped her harder. The girl inched closer to her. Caroline's chest heaved. This was unbearable. She longed for things she never thought she would long for. It was not just about the blood. It was every need she ever had combined in bloodlust and…lust._

" _It is the circle of life and death. You are granting them their wish. For a moment in time, through death, their life will accelerate to the point of infinity. Without you, they would live a meaningless life in anonymity, their skin would break and then melt in time. Instead their blood will re-animate you and will become your source of eternity. A part of them will flow inside of you forever." His sensual tone was making her whole body vibrate._

" _This is insane," she said and she let her hands fall. The girl with the familiar face was once again free._

" _And, yet, somehow it feels right doesn't it?" he asked her darkly._

" _No," she denied, but her voice lacked conviction._

_He took her in his arms, but this time he wasn't trying to seduce her. He seemed desperate._

_He shook her as his gaze reprimanded her._

" _For how long will you keep lying to yourself, Caroline? For how long will you keep denying what you truly need?" his voice was hard._

" _It is not what I need. This is not it," she insisted as she tried to get out of his hold._

_This whole thing was messing with her mind. She couldn't keep up with him. He was reverting from hot to cold from one moment to the other without any warning and it seemed that she was doing the same thing too. She was feeling ready to give in and at the next moment she fought with fists and nails._

_All she knew was that even if this was just a dream, she couldn't give in. It was not in her nature._

" _It is! You can run away from it, but in the end it will catch up with you. As it does with all of us. Why do you think Stefan has lapses in his control?" he asked, bringing Stefan again into this._

_She was still feeling sick. She could still remember all the images he forced her to see. In all those images, Stefan was not her friend but the ripper Klaus liked so much._

_Klaus was growing frantic and she could tell by the way he was trying to make her see things from his perspective. The seduction was gone. He was shaking her now and he was showing her all the grim possibilities. This time he was trying to ignite fear._

" _When you keep denying your nature, your instincts will eventually retaliate. The insatiable void will only feed the beast until it breaks free; and then there will be no control, no light, no mercy. In the end, your existence will be just a circle between the brutality of a demanding blood lust and the remorse from the last remnants of a humanity long gone. Is this what you truly want for yourself Caroline?" he asked harshly._

_She tried to get out of his hold but he held her tighter._

" _No, I…you are confusing me, stop!" she protested, outraged._

" _I am giving you the raw truth, sweetheart. Your control is remarkable, but it also has an expiration date. If you don't allow some freedom to the vampire inside you, eventually it will break free and then it will rain blood. Your light will fade away, Caroline; it is then that you will become a monster…it is then that you will forever forget who you used to be," his voice was eerily calm._

_Caroline looked at him and cringed. This was her greatest fear and he knew it._

_She looked at the girl and she tried to think._

_Somehow she had to think. To use her logic, her rationality and her control. Klaus's words were so alluring and were making her defenses drop. She knew she shouldn't be tempted. She should be appalled and horrified. But, she wasn't. She was tempted. To the point where for a few moments she forgot this was a nightmare that he was forcing on her._

_And, there had to be a reason. There had be a reason he wanted her to feed on that girl so damn much. He was tempting her like the devil had tried once to tempt Eve, but in this case she didn't understand why. His Garden of Eden seemed to be lost and she was running circles in a maze. She didn't understand where this was leading._

_What would he gain? Why was he so obsessed with this?_

_If she wanted to defeat him in his own game she had to understand his motives. This was not about teaching her. This was about control. About domination. But why like this? It didn't make any sense. Not when this was not real. This was just his projection. Even if she would feed in this illusion it would still be a fantasy._

_For a moment, she feared that he would be able to turn the nightmare into a hallucination in real life too, but she could tell the difference from a dream and a hallucination since she experienced both at certain points in time. She was dreaming now. She could feel it in her every fiber. It was a sensation, like floating inside her own mind. She was very aware of the fact that her mind was in a state of dream. Maybe it was a vampire ability, but she could tell what was going on._

_This was still a dream. It wasn't real. Klaus was messing with her thoughts and her fears. She needed to wake up. That way he wouldn't be able to control her._

_She felt her stomach clenching. Her gaze locked with his. Determination and defiance rose._

" _You want me to feed on the girl; after that what is going to happen?" she asked him as she tried to keep her calm. She had to control herself. She could do this. She couldn't let him win and even though she knew he could hear her thoughts, she didn't care. To the hell with this. If he wanted to play then game on! She would fight until she would not be able to fight anymore. It was the least she could do. She owed it to herself._

" _Then you will wake up," he stated with a smirk that had her narrowing her eyes._

" _Just like that?" she asked doubtfully._

" _Just like that," he said sounding and looking too innocent for her liking._

_She looked at him with a questioning gaze._

" _Where is the catch?" she asked, not believing anything that came from his mouth anymore._

" _No catch, love. All I want is for you to take a taste. Indulge me," he purred persuasively._

_Caroline looked at him with a venomous expression._

" _Nothing is as it seems with you Klaus. This is a dream, I am not really hurting anyone here and yet it is all too easy," she threw at him with distrust._

_His eyes lit with delight._

" _Well, sweetheart, what can I say, I have a soft spot for you," he cooed as his smirk grew wider._

" _Yeah, right," she challenged and his eyes shone with bemusement._

" _Besides…you are trying too hard Klaus," she noted and she saw him raising a brow._

_He then shrugged and dramatically sighed._

" _Ok, I'll be honest, I want you to submit.. After all your indiscretions, it will satisfy me. You are always rejecting me. So, now, here, I want you to do what I am ordering," his voice was now a purr of menace._

_She gritted her teeth and fisted her hands as fury rose in her. Becoming a puppet in his hands, even in here, and having to obey him was even worse than the last nightmare he gave her. She would prefer to be a chew toy for that wolf again, than have to deal with this. And she knew that if she didn't do what he wanted, he would find a way to make her submit anyway. In the end, he was still controlling this dream. If she wanted to wake up anytime soon, she would have to please him._

_This was bad. Really, really bad!_

_Klaus smiled a merciless smile and his gaze turned sadistic._

" _I am an Original, love. I thought of forcing you into submission in the real world too, but I would hate to permanently break that spirit of yours. So, this will have to do for now," he wickedly told her and he seemed to be deriving a strange pleasure from all of this._

" _So all the big talk about being a vampire was just a way to make me play your stupid games," she said spitefully and looked at him with contempt._

_His face hardened and his eyes turned to ice._

" _Make no mistake, Caroline, everything I told you is the honest truth and in time, you will come to terms with it as we all do." His tone was final._

_He moved closer to her. but this time she shivered from disgust. How could she have been fooled by him even for a moment? How could she have thought that there was a part of him that cared?_

_Klaus caught her in his arms and she squirmed to get away causing him to laugh._

_He was insufferable and cruel. This was the real Klaus and she had to always remember this._

" _Alas, I have to admit that it will be a pleasure to make you give your pride up and bow down to my will, even in here," he jested with satisfaction as his hand shadowed the line of her jaw and she immediately turned her head to the side, refusing to bear his touch even for a moment._

" _You are sick," she spat, her eyes a mirror of loathing. She pushed him away and he let her go. She remembered the way he held her while they danced at the ball in his house. She remembered the drawing he sent to her later. But, now, she could see that those memories were fake. Just like him. And she hated herself for believing even for a moment that he actually cared._

" _I would just call me eccentric." He winked at her._

" _So I do this and this ends?" she asked him once more through clenched teeth._

_His gaze travelled slowly over her, taking in every detail and practically undressing her with his eyes._

" _For tonight," he said and he traced his fingers above her cleavage, but she angrily jerked his hand away._

" _What is it going to be, sweetheart?" he asked, obviously enjoying this._

_Caroline looked at the girl again and then glared at Klaus. She reluctantly nodded._

_She couldn't stand this any longer. If this was what she had to do in order to get him out of her head then she would do it._

" _Excellent," he said in a tone that was degrading for her._

_He extended his hand towards the girl and once again the girl came next to Caroline._

" _She is yours for the taking. Feed from her until you take all of her blood. Every single drop of it and then, and only then, will I will allow you to wake up," he said, excited._

_He let the girl go and went to sit at his chair. He placed one leg over the other and waited, looking smug._

_Caroline looked at the girl, reminding herself again and again that this was just a dream. It wasn't real._

_She felt her eyes tear up and Klaus waved dismissively._

" _Go on love, I am expecting a spectacle," he told her as he sat more comfortably on his wooden throne, looking all regal._

_Caroline felt her anger rise and she looked at the girl. The sooner she would do this, the sooner she would wake up._

_She felt her throat constrict. Klaus's eyes sparkled with anticipation. Caroline closed her eyes and let the smell of the blood carry her away. Into a world she had been craving and denying for so long._

_Her fangs descended and she brought the girl closer. Klaus's gaze became transfixed._

_Caroline's mouth snapped open, ready to take a lethal bite. But as her teeth were about to carve into that girl's neck, she froze in mid air, her mouth closing instantly. She blinked as realization hit her._

_She repeated her own words in her head again. Nothing was as it seemed with Klaus! Her instincts went into overdrive. It was as if she was standing next to an abyss. Klaus said that she was a predator now. And, yet, she felt like prey. She was a hunter, being hunted and that made every vampire instinct in her scream and send danger signals._

_Klaus…he always planned everything and nothing was as it seemed with him. He was cunning. More cunning than Katherine and Damon put together._

_She gripped the flesh of the girl tighter. The tighter she was holding her, the more danger she felt. This is what Klaus wanted. This was a …distraction. She should know. She had majored in being one for him. Klaus had tried to tempt and seduce her into this and tried to scare her. Now, he was using her own pride and anger against her. He knew that his degrading words would make her so angry, her judgment would be clouded._

_But, why? Why was it so important for him to make her feed in here? This was just a dream. It wasn't real. Just a dream. She wasn't really hurting anyone here, it wasn't as if she was losing control in the real world._

_And then it hit her so hard she felt all her energy draining from her body._

_He had already told her that this would be her choice. That this reality wasn't real, but the desires in the dreams were._

_He had actually said_ _**suppressed** _ _needs and desires._

_That was it!_

_Oh, God!_

_He was trying to ignite her need for blood subconsciously. Everything became so painfully clear the whole world spun around her and her brain showering her with the truth._

_If the dreams, as he explained, were a way for the subconscious to tell us what we really want and to motivate us to act, then if she were to give in to her darkest deepest desires how long would it take for the dreams to come true? How long until all those deeply hidden desires came rushing to the surface?_

_If she woke up her hunger in her mind, how long would it take for her to lose control when she was awake?_

_Klaus would be there then. He would be there to give her the last push. He would be there to guide her and to make sure she would give in to blood and to…him._

_This is what he wanted!_

_Caroline pushed the girl away as if she was made of fire and stumbled back horrified._

" _Smart girl," she heard Klaus mumbling with pride and irritation. She abruptly turned her head up to look at him with terror. He looked at her seriously and she gulped in understanding. She had to wake up. Now. She had to wake up!_

_Klaus smiled now. His smile a merciless line._

" _This is why I like you, sweetheart, you are so much more than just a beautiful face," he said with admiration._

_Caroline took some steps back, feeling more trapped than ever. She had to wake up! She had to! She was becoming frantic and terrified._

" _Why make this hard love?" he asked her in a soothing tone._

_She breathed heavily as her eyes looked at him hatefully._

" _This isn't happening Klaus! I am not doing this!" she yelled at him._

_Klaus eyes glittered dangerously._

" _Oh, but you are sweetheart," his voice was now rough._

" _No I am not! This is my choice you said, so no way in hell!" she screamed at him. Fear was consuming her. Somehow, this all felt inevitable and now that she knew Klaus' true purpose it also felt horrifying._

" _I would suggest for your sake to comply, either way you are doing this, so I would hate to have to make this even more difficult for you," he warned her._

_She narrowed her eyes and looked at him with detest._

" _Go to hell!" she screamed at him with such fervor and rage that the whole room around them shook. The floor beneath her feet quaked and for a moment she swore she was gaining control of her dream, but soon enough everything turned static again and she wanted to scream in frustration._

" _Always so obstinate," Klaus lamented with a sigh._

" _Oh, I am so sorry I am not making this easy for you!" she retorted, folding her arms over her chest and Klaus shook his head in bemusement for a moment before his gaze turned impassive again._

" _The hard way it is then," he said in a detached tone that turned her blood into ice._

_It was then the girl beside them stared at them with sheer terror. She fell on her knees and looked at them terrified. Caroline let her hands fall from her chest and she looked first at the girl and then at Klaus with an inquiring look. She tried to keep her calm, but a foreboding emotion was now filling her whole._

" _Please, don't hurt me," the girl pleaded as she looked at her bleeding wrist with horror. She started sobbing uncontrollably. Caroline looked at the girl with pity and tried so hard to remember from where she knew her, but it was futile. For a moment, she wanted to go to the girl and sooth her fears away, but she had to remind herself that this was not real. And, yet, the girl's panic seemed too real and was making Caroline's heart clench._

_The girl screamed as she looked at the blood that kept pouring from her hand and she cried harder._

" _It isn't real, it isn't," Caroline kept repeating in trembling whispers as her eyes could not look away from all the blood._

_Klaus raised an elegant eyebrow, mirth flaring in his eyes._

" _So why resist temptation? If this isn't real, then why are you resisting so hard, love?" he remarked and Caroline looked at him perplexed. How could he be such a blend of fire and ice at the very same moment?_

_The girl started sobbing harder and Caroline closed her eyes and tried to imagine she was anywhere else but here, except Klaus was having none of that._

_He approached her for what seemed like the millionth time this night and bent towards her so his mouth was against her ear._

" _Tell me Caroline… after the first dream I gave you ...do you remember your bloodlust? I can make it a thousand times worse," he singsonged and she shuddered as his breath warmed her skin even as his words froze her blood inside her veins._

_Klaus let his fingertip trace the column of her neck and his breath made her skin tingle with goosebumps all over._

" _What did you do after I left, I wonder? You indulged with your precious blood bags, didn't you? But, they were not enough, were they?" he asked her and they both knew the answer. She had lost control. Completely. She became a savage who surrendered utterly to the commands of the vampire inside her._

_She clenched her eyes shut. Klaus was gloating and she turned her hands into fists, her nails digging into her skin. She could not shut out his voice and she could not ignore the girl's pleas that were endlessly coming towards her._

" _For the first time they were not enough," Klaus continued, his lips moving in a tantalizing rhythm against her earlobe. It was a sinful brush, one that was reminding her of things she wanted to forget. The silken heat of fear and ice ribbons of bloodlust invaded her soul, robbing her of the ability to even breathe. She remembered the all consuming need for blood and Klaus was not making it any easier for her._

" _They couldn't quench your thirst, could they? You were starving for more...sooo much more…your body was screaming," he reminded her. The cadence of his voice was a firestorm of such intensity it had her swaying on her feet as tears fell from her closed eyes._

_Why was he doing this to her? Why couldn't he just stop? And why was it all she wanted was to turn around and bury her fangs into his neck and indulge in his blood. His voice was so alluring, even more now that he was using it as a weapon against her._

_Klaus buried his head to the crook of his neck in her, inhaling the scent of her hair. His voice was hoarse with need and his fingers bit into her arms._

" _Just imagine what would have happened if your beloved mother was in the house that night. Would you have resisted? Would you have held back?"_

_Her eyes snapped open as if ice was thrown over her. She started trembling. His words echoed the strain of madness that was always part of him. His underlined threat was obvious and was not one to be ignored._

_She moved away from his embrace and turned to look at him with fear shimmering in her eyes. Her movements were hesitant and she looked intensively at his face. His amusement was gone. Fierce determination was shining there and she knew not to pass that frightening line._

_She was not dealing with just Klaus now. She had the Original terror standing in front of her and, yet, the wrath being born inside of her was as real and as terrifying as he was._

_How dare he threaten her mother?_

_Her eyes turned cold. She was horrified, but most of all she was furious! She wanted to attack him. To make him bleed. To find what hurt him the most and then make him pay._

_Klaus crossed his hands behind his back. She held her breath. He took one step forward. She stood immobilized._

" _Here is your chance...dreams are what we make them to be...your desire is here; human blood sweetheart…it is calling for you," he once more tempted her. She knew that this was his last civil effort and she knew that after that nothing would be the same between them and still she refused to give in._

' _Can you hear my thoughts?' she wondered in her head sending him a lethal glare and he nodded._

' _You will pay for this. No matter what it takes' she promised and she saw how his eyes shone with darkness and he nodded again, accepting her challenge._

" _What say you, love?" he asked her once more and this time she took a step forward._

" _No," she simply said and she saw how his jaw tensed._

_He looked straight at her and for a moment he closed his eyes and shook his head gravely._

' _You leave me no other choice, sweetheart.' She heard his whisper inside her mind and her lips trembled._

_Klaus straightened his spine and she looked at him with sorrow and defiance. She would hate him after this. They both knew it. And, yet, he would not relent. He would not wake her up. This was who he was._

_The monster._

" _You can choose to feed on the girl or you can choose to wake up. I leave it up to you. Your mother is sleeping in the next room," he calmly stated and Caroline let out the breath she didn't know she was holding._

" _Don't do this," she whispered to him._

" _Her heartbeat is echoing around the house. How many times has the sound of her heart lulled you into a craving you could never admit, even to yourself?" he asked her, his voice husky and borderline sensual. His walls were up once more. This was the Klaus everyone feared. And right now so did she._

_Klaus circled her with slow steps and shivers ran down her bare back._

" _How many times have you lied to yourself about being harmless to the humans you love so much," he asked, genuine intrigue coloring his tone and Caroline's breath hitched. How many times, indeed…_

_Klaus stopped in front of her and his hand curled around the nape of her neck._

" _If you don't feed right now you will wake up completely dried out...I will make sure of that like I did the last time. Your sense of logic vanished...the only thing left will be the hunger and a human's breathing in the house echoing and bouncing around the walls," he warned her and she looked at him appalled._

_He meant it. He was ready to make his threats come true._

" _Your vampire drive will be at the highest peak. Are you absolutely a hundred percent certain that you can resist the temptation, love?" he challenged her as his fingers tightened around her neck and he tilted her head up. She grabbed his wrist with her own hand and immobilized his movements._

" _She is my mother," Caroline objected, but her resolve was weak. She remembered how it felt to be starving and if Klaus was to trap her in the same place with her mother…with no way out…would she be able to resist?_

" _She is human...she is flesh...she is blood ...and you my love are a Vampire...Are you willing to take a chance with her life?" Klaus smiled at her and Caroline became more desperate with each word that escaped his lips._

_Could she gamble with her mother's life like this? Just so Klaus would not get what he wanted from her in the dream? Would she reign over her bloodlust?_

_Her control would fade. They both knew it. Caroline knew it. She was desperately trying to find a way to breathe now as her eyes turned glossy. She buried her nails into his wrist and he let her. She knew this was a dream he controlled. She was not inflicting on him any pain, but oh how she wanted to tear him apart right now!_

" _The last beat of her heart will be at your hands. There is no coming back after that..trust me I know..." Klaus knowingly told her and Caroline pushed him away as if he was made of electric currents._

" _I am not like you!" she screamed at him and the room once more shook. Klaus' eyes darkened and she felt a scalding pain in her temples. She grabbed her head. She tried so hard to break the dream connection, her will clashed against him._

_Klaus growled and she could swear that she heard the ticking of a clock. Her own clock! The one she kept on her nightstand next to her bed. She could wake up. She had to try. She tried to reign over her fear and her anger. Over her fury that seemed never ending. It was as if her emotions were the weapon she needed to use against Klaus' mind control._

_He took a step closer and the shaking of the room continued more turbulently now. But at the same moment, when she could swear that she would wake up, the screams and pleadings of the girl reached her ears more loud than ever._

" _But you are!" Klaus insisted, his voice sounded like a whisper and a roar. It was so loud and so distant. As if she was breaking his hold and as if he was gaining once more control and forcing the dream to continue._

_He gripped her hands and lowered them from her head. She looked at him with exhaustion and determination. "How did it feel when you ripped your first victim apart, sweetheart?" he taunted and she felt weaker as memories she didn't want assaulted her mind, distracting her from her effort to defeat his power over her mind._

_Klaus knew it and he mercilessly continued as he pushed her closer to him. The shaking of the room was dissipating and each detail was becoming clear once more._

" _When you tasted the last drop of his blood. Do you remember that glorious feeling?" he demanded her attention as his lips ghosted over hers making her go all weak, "Because what you have felt, I have felt too. Deny it all you want, but we have the same nature. We are the same," he simply said, allowing the realization to hit her hard. He knew her weakness because he had been there. And, yet, he showed no mercy for her now._

_Once the room stopped moving and Klaus regained control he let her go and she stumbled back feeling her whole body shake. The pain in her temples ebbed away and she wanted to cry realizing how she had lost the battle and with it her last chance to find a way out of this._

" _But if you are not like me...if you can control the hunger then wake up right now...It is up to you," Klaus shrugged and as she was about to open her lips, he pressed his finger against her mouth in warning._

" _But I would think twice before I would do that," he suggested._

" _I am holding your body right now, love. Your struggle was impressive and even though I admire the effort, in the end, you are the one that condemned yourself. You tried so hard to wake up that you put quite a strain on your body. The veins are already cascading around your eyes," he informed her and she looked at him with trepidation._

" _It is happening...and when you are fully awake I won't hold you back...I might even lock you in the same room with mommy dearest," he mocked and she took a step back and shook her head in fear._

" _Take your chances, sweetheart. Feed on the girl and I will make sure to take the hunger away from your before you come back to consciousness or… wake up and deal with the consequences of your own actions. The choice is yours," he declared and looked at her intently._

_She bit her lip harshly, drawing blood. She looked at the girl that stared at her, all helpless and in torment and Caroline felt her legs going limp._

_As she fell, she felt Klaus hands wrapping around her body bringing her closer._

" _Can a dream really harm you, sweetheart?" he coaxed and she rested her head on his shoulder. She could not fight anymore. He had won. She could not risk her mother's life, even if that meant awaking her vampire instincts permanently. She would have to give in now and deal with the consequences later. She would have to cross that bridge when she got there, but for now, she couldn't take any chance with her mom's life. She couldn't. And Klaus knew it._

" _Give in Caroline...give in to me," his tone was a magnetic purr that was lulling her into a dangerous desire. She was ready to give in to temptation. To give to the devil her soul and she was about to do it fully aware of what it meant and of what the consequences would be. Klaus was forcing her into this, but he was not tricking her into it now. And this felt worse, because now she would not even be able to hold on to the excuse of ignorance._

_She put her hands on his chest and drove herself away from his embrace. She didn't even spare him another glance as she stood up and walked closer to the crying girl._

_With each step, the girl was trying to stumble back. Rivulets of blood fell from her neck and her hand was severely bleeding out._

_Caroline stiffened as her vision was now locked on the blood. The girl was shaking; she was sweating profusely and crying out for help and viewing Caroline as the scariest sight ever to be seen, but to Caroline that somehow felt exciting. She found herself relishing in that anguish and in the terror. The hunter Klaus wanted to wake up inside of her was now clawing out. Caroline's eyes changed color. The green shade was lost in crimson and black. Veins formed underneath as sharp razors extended from the depths of her gums which now ached and burned._

_She flew at the girl with a speed she didn't know she possessed. From the windows she could see her reflection. A blur of scarlet silk mixing with the white dress of her prey._

_Caroline could feel Klaus' gaze burning holes to the back of her head. He was winning. Because now she had let go. And she was certain that now she had turned into the death he longed for, he was taking in every detail with amazement and pride._

_Caroline gripped the forearms of the girl and she met the terror stricken eyes that seemed so familiar. She couldn't remember from where and the more she could not remember the more frustrated she became and that was igniting her hunger more. She lowered her head and her nose traced the pumping vein in the ivory neck. So soft was the skin and so fragile. Underneath it, only blood. Lifeblood that carried the scent of sunshine and warmth. Caroline's tongue lapped the drops of the blood that lingered there and ignored the screams of horror and the helplessness of her victim._

" _It is not real," she whispered as the taste of blood reached the velvet of her tongue, igniting thousands of taste triggers to explode in her mouth. She moaned and tears leaked from her closed eyelids. She threw her head back and opened her mouth, her fangs shining in the candlelight._

_And then…_

_She let her fangs find refuge in the pulsating artery and what was not real, finally seemed to her more real than anything else she experienced before._

_As her canines brutally embedded more deeply into the skin tearing flesh, she let go. She completely lost herself as she sucked the life out of the girl. The tempo of the human heartbeat grew faster and faster as Caroline gulped mouthfuls of blood. She finally felt alive. She belonged. She was strong. She was sated. She wanted more. All the previous doubts and resistance subsided. This was a moment of happiness. It was pure bliss. A long deserved freedom._

_Caroline found herself trapped between the body of the girl that was fading away fast and Klaus' who now kneeled behind her, soothing her by gently caressing her hair. She felt complete. She felt like herself. As the heartbeat faded and Klaus' hands brushed her hair to the side and caressed her own neck, Caroline felt as if her soul was soaring higher and higher. She tilted the neck she feasted on to the side and bit deeper. The poor girl was whimpering now. The crying and screaming had stopped. It was serene. It was liberating._

_And as the last drops of blood hit Caroline's tongue and travelled hot down her throat, the whimpering stopped and was replaced by coldness._

_Caroline slid her red stained fangs out from the girl's neck and she opened her eyes, only to watch the light of life fade from the human eyes of the girl who now stared into the abyss with a vacant gaze. Blood was seeping from the puncture wounds and had soaked the white dress a crimson shade. Caroline let the lifeless body fall gently down to the floor and pivoted her upper body to face the man who held her._

_His eyes were luminous in the darkness. He let his finger wander on the veins that still danced in her face. Caroline closed her eyes and breathed in. She could feel blood staining her lips and running down her jaw and neck._

_She felt his forehead rest against hers, his hands framing her face tenderly. They both exhaled with relief and she found shelter in his embrace now that the thirst was no more. His gentleness made her feel safe. And so very lost._

" _Red becomes you."_

* * *

The sea of blood and its crimson color slowly dissolved under her eyelids and the warmth ebbed away. Her senses were gradually awakening, her eyes fluttering open, as the color of the world returned to her and golden specks appeared in the dusty faded rays of light pouring in from the open window. The curtains shimmered. A slow dance to the cool breeze that cooled her heated skin.

Caroline couldn't help the dread and the relief she felt all at once. The dream was _over_. She was awake and the nightmare had passed away. Images of what she dreamed of rushed through her mind, but she pushed them away, refusing to linger on them any longer. She had returned to reality unscathed and in this world she would not let Klaus rob her of her sanity any longer. She would not let him win.

And, yet, she could not deny how rested she felt. The dream and the events of it seemed to have weirdly replenished her strength. She leisurely stretched, enjoying the agility she felt and with languid movements she sat up and rubbed out the remaining sleep out of her eyes.

She inhaled and for a moment her breath hitched. Klaus's scent still lingered in her sheets. It was invading her senses and creating a new tempting haze. He had been in her bed. Holding her captive inside her dream. He needed the connection and he had to touch her skin to make sure her mind would submit to his will.

That made her feel violated. Weak.

And, in the same moment, her body thrummed with life. It was as if the air was beating a new tune. One that only her vampire perception could be aware of. She could hear sounds from miles away. She could hear the soft movements of the leaves from the trees across her house. The slow humming of the birds. The squeal of car tires blocks away.

She could smell the enticing scent of coffee that was coming from the kitchen.

She felt different. She felt alive. Completely in touch with all the vibrations of the air and the earth. Each component and object was emitting its own sound and unique pulse and she could feel and hear it.

It was as if the vampire inside her was now balanced. The uneasiness and the need to hunt she felt every morning for the first minutes she woke up were now gone. As if those needs were fulfilled in her sleep.

Her body didn't ache with the need for blood. Her throat was not dry to the point where it felt torn.

It was as if the ideas and the temptations Klaus planted inside her mind had not only taken root, but also spread inside her mind and body and were now a part of her. One she could not ignore or cast aside any longer.

As if!

She huffed and pushed the covers away from her body feeling agitated and annoyed.

He might be Klaus Mikaelson, ruler of everything evil and killer of puppies and rainbows, but she was Caroline Forbes and if there was one thing she knew how to do it was this. Persevere. And so she would!

What she needed right now was a hot bath and strong cup of coffee to clear her mind. And then she would go out and be herself as always. She would be damned if she was to let Klaus take over her life. If he wanted her dreams, so be it. But, she would make sure all the other hours of her day would be hers and only hers. She was still the same person. She still had the same morals. She only had to believe in herself and to her control.

She could do this.

She shook her head and wore her brightest smile. A new day was beginning. She tried to fill her mind with positive thoughts as she entered the shower and let the warm water and the soap lather her body. Her pores welcomed each drop of water with excitement.

She stayed underneath the spray for at least an hour, grateful that this was not a school day.

She pushed her wet hair back to her scalp with her hands as she tilted her head to the side and let the water fall from her forehead down to her body. She then rested her hands on the tiles and stretched her body like a feline.

She bit her lip anxiously as she remembered how she sent Tyler away last night and she swore under her breath. Klaus' compulsion was messing with her life, big time. She needed to find a way to balance everything out until she would be able to convince Klaus to let her go. Logically, soon enough, he would tire of this game. This could not go on forever.

She opened her eyes and increased the water pressure. She needed a plan. A strategy. When it came to Klaus, fighting him full force would be no good. If anything, it would make things worse. And she was certain that every time he acted, he expected a reaction from her. One that he would be able to take advantage of since he believed that he held all the cards.

What she needed to do was find another way. Distract him. Manipulate him. Whatever it would take.

She now knew how cruel and insane he was and even more so how much more he could become, but she also felt he had a soft spot when it came to her in his twisted own way. She just had to find a way to explore it.

She stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel. She went back to her room and when she opened her wardrobe she grimaced. She was planning on wearing a red sundress today, but she pushed the hanger with the dress to the side and went for a simple green top and jeans, but not before touching the red dress tentatively.

" _Red becomes you…"_

"Get a grip Caroline!" she reprimanded herself before she closed the door of her wardrobe so harshly it shook in its hinges.

She took time pampering herself, all the while stalling to activate her phone. Once she did she would have to deal with Tyler, and Elena and she was not ready yet.

She curled her hair and wore make up. This was to be her personal shield and she needed to feel like herself again.

She went towards the kitchen and smiled as she realized that her mom had left her fresh brewed coffee in the coffee pot. The soft light in the kitchen was soothing and she welcomed the quiet. She filled her cup and enjoyed how the smell of the strong coffee filled her nostrils, the air around her. It was vibrant and more intense than ever. She jumped on the kitchen bar and sat there dangling her legs playfully.

She played with the buttons of her phone and brought the cup to her lips before an image drew her attention. Her fingers stilled over the phone and she slowly put the cup next to her and hopped off the bar.

This could not be right.

She gripped her phone so hard that the device cracked in her fingers as she focused on the fliers on the kitchen table. The black and white photos on the missing person posters made her stop in her tracks. She grew absolutely still in a seemingly inhuman way as she realized that this was about the missing case report her mom was working on last night.

She took one of the papers in her hand and focused on the photo. No. This could not be happening. Her worst nightmare was now literary coming to life.

Now she … _finally remembered_.

_._

_**End of part two.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With the end of the second part came the conclusion of the whole chapter :
> 
> ~~~ When Nightmares Come to Life : The Monster Within Aches for Blood.
> 
> Thanks for reading.


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